


even the way i walk carried the sound of your laughter

by Otpismyoxygen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hinata is as usual very stupid, M/M, Misunderstandings, Second year Hinata, Third year Atsumu, atsumu is equally stupid, slight osahina but not really, tkhn friendship is my brand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29899353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otpismyoxygen/pseuds/Otpismyoxygen
Summary: Hinata had done a lot of stupid things his whole life, but putting the love letter he wrote for Osamu into Atsumu's bag was probably the worst of all.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 16
Kudos: 199





	even the way i walk carried the sound of your laughter

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was supposed to be 3k words so I don't know where the hell that extra 18k came from.  
> The title of the fic is from the lyrics of Sparkle by Radwimps (I listened to that song an embarrassing amount of time while I wrote this fic so it's only fair for me to use the lyrics as the title).  
> also, gosh I'm so happy to be able to write atsuhina again. srsly my comfort ship. I would be happy if anyone enjoyed this even just a little bit. Happy reading <3

_Dear Miya-san,_

_Hello miya-san. this is hinata shoyo. karasuno’s middle blocker. ~~the short one~~ the one who is not wearing glasses_

_im sorry for sending you this letter. i mustve inconvenient you but i dont know how to tell you other than with this. you could ~~trow~~ throw away the letter after you read it altho i will be hapy if you could read my letter till the end!!_

_i write this so i can tell you how amazng you are. i saw the first time you play last year. you might not remmber but i cant forget how AWESOME you were it made me GWAH when you did the jump serve it went BAM! also!!! i love the way you spike and set! its so cool that you can do both i want to be able to do that too_

_But i think the most awesome thing is how you can copy our quick!! I mean me and kageyama's quick. I never saw anyone copy our quick before!_

_Im so HAPPY that we can play against each other again. I wrote this in the night before our match tomorrow so when you read this letter we mighy already knew who win GWAAAAH who do you think win? Im sure we won but i also understand if you won since you and your twin are AWESOME. ~~but i still think we're gonna win.~~_

_Anyway no matter who win i want to tell you that i like you miya-san and I'll be happuy if you want to go out on a date with me! Please meet me at the back of the arena after our match?_

_Have a nice day!!!_

_Hinata Shoyo_

* * *

Hinata was fucked.

Absolutely, utterly fucked.

Now, this wasn’t the first time in his life that he did something unbelievably stupid. God knew how many times those acts that came up from his impulsive idiocy were witnessed by Tsukishima. So Hinata was sure if his middle blocker combo partner knew what kind of fuckery he did this time, Tsukishima would ditch him for good. Cut off all their ties, he might even quit the club, which definitely couldn’t happen because Karasuno's defense would crumble without him.

So no, Hinata would never, _ever_ , let Tsukishima know what kind of absolute stupid thing he did today. Never.

He gulped, because while he at least knew that he would be able to handle Tsukishima later, he didn’t know what to do _now_.

Now that the result of his stupidity was right in front of him. In the form of a 185cm tall volleyball player with blond undercut hair, devastatingly handsome face, his eyes were the color of the hot chocolate that Natsu loved so much, wearing the maroon track jacket that was a bit baggy but weirdly fit his body just right, and white track pants that had a few dirty stains here and there.

All of those features were actually correct, as in the person he called out to meet him here behind the Tokyo National Gym was supposed to be someone who wore that Inarizaki tracksuit, 185cm tall, and exactly had that... face. But the thing was, the person wasn’t supposed to be blond.

“Shoyo-kun, isn’t a love letter kinda old school in this day and age?” Inarizaki’s number 1, Inarizaki’s captain, Inarizaki's setter, said to him with a slight grin on his face, and if Shoyo wasn’t as freaked out as he was right now, he could probably see the blush on the blond man’s cheeks.

It was Miya _Atsumu_.

Miya Atsumu, Inarizaki’s setter was right in front of Hinata, holding a letter with familiar handwriting of his that clearly said “To: Miya-san” on it. The letter was waved at him as if mocking Hinata’s stupidity.

What happened? Did he put the letter in the wrong bag? Or did Inarizaki's captain fished the letter out of his twin's bag? Gosh, this was what happened if he was too out of his mind with panic, afraid that the person who guarded Inarizaki’s players’ bags would see him sneaking around to slip the letter into one of the bags. But who could blame him? The twins had identical bags!

Hinata opened his mouth, but the whole situation felt even worse than when he smacked the back of Kageyama’s head with his serve at his first-ever practice match against Seijoh almost two years ago. Hinata desperately needed a hole to swallow him whole right now.

“Uhm, Miya-san, I’m—”

“Sure!”

"—sorry but this is actually a mis—" he stopped. Did the setter just say something? “Huh?”

Atsumu brought the letter to his lips, covering half of his face with it. Even if Hinata could only see his eyes, and even though he never really paid attention to him, he knew those eyes.

It was the look the setter always sported every time he was on the court. Like he was having fun. Like he was happy.

“I’ll go on a date with you, Shoyo-kun,” he mumbled, almost inaudible, but Hinata could hear it loud and clear.

That day, Hinata had learned many things. One, he might be on his second year of high school, but he was still as stupid as he ever be. Two, when you send a letter, you should write the full name of the recipient. Three, no matter how in a hurry you were, you should take time to see clearly so you wouldn’t put something where it wasn’t supposed to be. And four, he should’ve explained himself, told the truth right there and then, that the letter wasn't supposed to be for him. And five, Atsumu’s smiling eyes were too mesmerizing for him that he might have failed to see something else behind those eyes.

* * *

“Tsukishima. I think I fucked up.”

“..........”

“..........”

“What did you do this time?”

“Promise me that you won’t call me a moron.”

“What. did. you. do?”

“... I gave the love letter to the wrong person.”

“You mean, you gave your love letter for Miya Osamu to…”

“Miya Atsumu.”

“..........”

“..........”

“Absolute moron.”

* * *

By the time Hinata had arrived back to Miyagi after the one-week-long National Tournament in Tokyo, he had cursed himself a thousand times in his head.

The “incident” happened on the second day of the tournament, right after Karasuno lost their second game with Inarizaki. It would be great if Karasuno immediately went home, but no. They stayed until the end of the tournament to observe, and it meant Hinata got the chance to meet Miya Atsumu on many occasions throughout the week.

It was fine until Tsukishima decided that he didn’t want to hide him anymore behind his unnecessarily tall self every time they were in close proximity to the Inarizaki team.

It wasn't fair how Hinata had tried his damn hardest to avoid Inarizaki's captain, yet it felt like anywhere he went, Atsumu was there. And the worst happened on the last day. Atsumu managed to grab him to ask for his number.

_“I’ll call you to set our date, alright, Shoyo-kun?”_

Hinata couldn’t say anything.

He could do nothing but freeze every time Atsumu smiled at him. It was kinda dangerous. Hinata bet Atsumu knew that his smile could do that to a naive boy like him.

It was just, Shoyo never saw Osamu smile, and with Atsumu kept on smiling at him, he imagined that was probably how Osamu would look like if he smiled. That made his heart go crazy.

Hinata threw himself to his bed. The bed he usually didn’t miss when he was out for camps or tournaments, but he missed it dearly this time. The soft touch of the familiar fabric and the warmth from the hot bath earlier slowly dragged him to the in-between of sleep and consciousness.

Yeah, there was no need to stress out over spilled milk. The only thing he could do right now was burying his head to the pillow, trying to erase everything, burying it all to the deepest part of—

His phone chimed, and Hinata could feel his entire body, even his hair, immediately freeze, an act that he had been doing a whole lot this past few days every time he saw the blond setter. It took a few seconds for him to slowly raise his head from the pillow, saw the light of his phone screen shone from inside his light brown sling bag. He had unpacked all of his overnight stuff—courtesy to his mom's nagging—but he forgot to get his phone out.

Who could it be? Maybe Takeda Sensei informing him about tomorrow’s schedule? Could it be Kenma, asking him if he had arrived safely? Or maybe Yamaguchi, asking him whether he wanted to study together for the upcoming finals? He could list a bunch of people that could’ve messaged him at this point of time but his gut was telling him—no, _screaming_ _—_ at him, that it was Miya Atsumu.

Hinata had the worst luck when it came to prediction, but this time, he could feel it through the endless shudder on his spine, that he was right. His gut was trying to prepare him.

His body moved on auto-pilot as he slowly got down from his bed, taking minuscule steps toward the corner of the room where he put his bag at. He knew that he shouldn’t be this nervous. But when he knew that he had made a big mistake, and was currently making another big one in the process by not telling Atsumu that he didn’t mean to give the letter to him, he felt like his reaction was pretty much normal.

Taking a deep breath, and before he chickened out and ended up ignoring the text until the next morning, he took out his phone from his bag and unlocked it.

A glaring **Inarizaki's Captain** was what welcomed him.

Hinata gulped. If he could look at himself in the mirror right now, he would know just how pale his entire face was.

He was fairly terrified, but the curiosity in him won, and he felt like a mere text—from someone that he falsely confessed to and asked out on a date, sure, but still, it was just a text—wouldn't kill him. So Hinata opened the text, slightly narrowing his eyes to avoid seeing the messages blatantly, but he still could see it anyway.

** Inarizaki's Captain **

**_Good evening shoyo-kun!_ **

**_Hope you arrived well in the safety of your home_ **

**_Dont forget to eat and dry your hair nicely before going to bed_ **

**_Im sure ure tired so you dont have to reply to me now but lets talk tomorrow? I have so many ideas for our first date ;)_ **

A few seconds—maybe minutes, Hinata wouldn't know—passed, still trying to reread the text for probably the 25th time. Yet, he was completely at a loss.

No, it wasn't because of the content of the message. It wasn't because Atsumu seemed to be so familiar with him either. Hinata was in a complete loss because he could feel his chest tightened reading the text.

Hinata ended up ignoring the message until the next morning.

* * *

MONDAY

** Me **

**_Good morning miya-san!!!!_ **

**_Sorry i just replied :((((_ **

**_And about our date…actually i need to talk to you about something_ **

** Inarizaki’s Captain **

**_Good morniiing shoyo-kun (❁´◡`❁)_ **

**_please just call me atsumu ;)_ **

**_did you have a nice sleep?_ **

** Me **

**_Yessss!! I dried my hair before sleep too!_ **

**_what about you atsumu-san???_ **

**_and about the date..._ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_good good bcs we dont want you to get another fever :P_ **

**_you have school today right?_ **

**_take care on your way there~_ **

**_dont forget to eat breakfast_ **

** Me **

**_:(((((( i NEVER get fever after that time_ **

**_that was the ONLY time_ **

**_and that was because i lacked rest_ **

**_eating breakfast now!!!_ **

**_mom scolded me for playing phone while eating :(((_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_EAT LOTS!!_ **

**_hinata-san pls dont scold my shoyo-kun :(_ **

**_im already on my way to school_ **

**_waiting for the bus now_ **

** Me **

**_do you go to school with your twin?_ **

**_Miya osamu-san i mean_ **

**_sorry if i replied late atsumu-san_ **

**_i go to school by bike_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_Alright take care shoyo-kun!_ **

**_tell me when you arrive at school_ **

** Me **

**_Arrived (￣^￣)ゞ_ **

**_have a nice day at school atsumu-san!!!_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_you too shoyo-kun <3_ **

**_lets talk again later_ **

****

TUESDAY

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_classes are absolute hell ughhh_ **

**_a week off of school bcs of nationals got me school-jetlagged_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_:((((((_ **

**_you never checked your phone at school arent you_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_i feel so lonely shoyo-kun_ **

** Me **

**_ATSUMU-SAN_ **

**_IM SO SORRY_ **

**_I NEVER CHECKED MY PHONE AT SCHOOL TT.TT_ **

**_Just finished practice!!_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_its okaaaaay shoyo-kun_ **

**_i just finished practice too_ **

**_its already so late pls be careful on your way home dont bike too fast :(_ **

** Me **

**_im home now :D :D :D_ **

**_thank you atsumu-san_ **

**_already took a bath too!!_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_Okay im ready to talk about our date now_ **

**_i was too nervous yesterday_ **

** Me **

**_o-oh…_ **

**_youre nervous too atsumu-san???_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_TOO??_ **

**_SHOYO-KUN_ **

**_Shoyo-kun you nervous????_ **

**_dont do this to me :(((_ **

** Me **

**_ehhhh? did i do something???_ **

** Me **

**_Atsumu-san???_ **

** Me **

**_are you sleeping atsumu-san?_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_TIME OUT_ **

**_i cant talk about our date or else my heart will explode_ **

WEDNESDAY

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_so you’re nervous about our upcoming date TOO?_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_You keep typing but not replying to me_ **

**_youre killing shoyo-kun youre killing me (´ω｀。)_ **

** Me **

**_isnt it a given im gonna be nervous???!_ **

**_instead why are YOU nervous atsumu-san_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_why shouldnt I?_ **

** Me **

**_i mean_ **

**_arent i the one who asked you out >////<_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_………_ **

**_do i get another chance to ask for a time out?_ **

** Me **

**_o.o_ **

**_why?_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_I can’t handle your cute shoyo-kun ToT_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_shoyo-kun?_ **

**_oh damn has your class alr begun?_ **

** Me **

**_no not yet!!!_ **

**_uhm_ **

**_so_ **

**_im cute???_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_hell yeah???_ **

**_why do u think I accepted your confession in your love letter??_ **

** Me **

**_but you told me that love letters are old fashion >///<_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_they are_ **

**_but coming from you its cute af_ **

** Me **

**_Now youre just teasing me atsumu-san -___-_ **

**_speaking about that letter…_ **

**_I need to tell u something_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_im telling the truth shoyo-kun wdym im teasing you_ **

**_anyway i need to go_ **

**_CAPTAIN DUTY!!_ **

** Me **

**_oh…_ **

**_okay atsumu-san ^.^_ **

****

THURSDAY

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_shoyo-kun_ **

**_tell me why its so hard for us to talk about our date_ **

**_is this what happens when two busy guys dating_ ** **_(｡•́︿•̀｡)_ **

** Me **

**_hahaha_ **

**_but we’re not dating…?_ **

**_ALSO i dont think im that busy O.O_ **

**_can we just not talking about the date then_ ** **_( ˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥ )_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_okay first, we’re not dating...YET_ **

**_so that means more or less we are ;)_ **

**_second, my sweet shoyo-kun you spent most of your time practicing we could only talk when youre home so you ARE busy_ **

**_third, sh-shoyo-kun（・□・；）_ **

**_do you not want to go on a date with me :((((((_ **

** Me **

**_WAIT_ **

**_thats not what i meant :(_ **

**_I just think maybe we shouldnt talk about it since we're nervous..._ **

**_are u angry atsumu-san :(((_ **

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_me? angry at shoyo-kun?_ **

**_NEVER_ **

**_its okay shoyo-kun i know youre just nervous_ **

**_BCS ME TOO_ **

**_but srsly. ive been holding onto your words in your letter_ **

**_im really happy when you said you like me_ **

**_and when you said you want to go on a date with me_ **

**_but at the same time i understand if you changed your mind_ **

**_please just tell me. im fine~_ **

**_probably_ **

**_i mean it’ll break my heart but_ **

**_i tried my best these past few days so you can KEEP liking me_ **

**_AHHH NEVERMIND_ **

**_GOOD NIGHT SHOYO-KUN_ **

** Me **

**_ATSUMU-SAN NO PLEASE DONT GO YET!!!!_ **

**_im soryyy :(((_ **

**_IM SO SORRY THATS NOT WHAT I MEANT_ **

****

** Me **

**_atsumu-san?_ **

**_｡･ﾟ(ﾟ ><ﾟ)ﾟ･｡_ **

****

** Me **

**_Sleep well atsumu-san lets talk tomorrow!_ **

FRIDAY

** Me **

**_Good morning!!_ **

**_you still didnt reply to my text :(((_ **

**_have a nice day at school today atsumu-san :D_ **

* * *

Before knowing Atsumu, Hinata never really bothered to check his phone at school, because why should he? The only persons that texted him once in a while were Kenma and his mom. Kenma when the Nekoma's setter was bored at school, and his mom when she needed her son to buy her something on his way home from school.

So really, Hinata had no reason whatsoever to check his phone constantly at school or at home. But since he started texting with Atsumu, he had this new habit formed where he would remind himself to check his phone because _Atsumu-san could've texted me and I would never know if I didn't check and I don’t want to make him wait for my reply._ God knew how much Tsukishima had teased him over it, while Kageyama was just confused and Yamaguchi was genuinely amused. Yachi was the only person that validated his new habit, although she said that Hinata still needed to concentrate at school.

It wasn’t that they texted that much. Atsumu was a third year, and in his last few weeks of captaincy before he focused on finals. While Hinata also had been studying and Noya Senpai had been preparing him as one of Karasuno’s core defense with receive practice since he would be gone in two months. So they were both busy, therefore they couldn’t text as much as they wanted because at school they had no time, and at home, they would be too tired.

They never texted intensely, and it only had been a week since they started texting, but it still felt like there was something missing in his daily life when Atsumu had stopped talking to him. It pissed him off how it wasn’t even 24 hours since Atsumu ignored his text, but Hinata had already started to worry.

“You know, what you did today kinda reminded me of you in the first year.”

Suddenly Tsukishima was behind him when Hinata was swapping his indoor volleyball shoes for outdoor shoes. The gym light coming from behind the tall blocker made Hinata unable to see his face, but he knew that his middle blocker partner must be sneering at him.

“Huh?” was Hinata’s only reply.

Sighing, Tsukishima got down the stairs of their gym as he switched his shoes. “You barely could receive any balls coming toward you, you missed the timing for our blocking, and your spikes were half-ass. You’re lucky during the whole practice today you weren’t at the same team as King, or else you would’ve been kicked out of the practice early on.”

Tsukishima left him behind, not caring that Hinata was so dumbfounded he practically could feel his own face paled. “W-wait!” he scrambled to his feet, but managed to catch up with the blocker. “Did I really do poorly today?”

“The others and the coaches noticed that you weren’t on your game today and let it slide. So whatever that distracted you today, you better solve it by Monday because I won’t cover your slacking ass again next time.”

Okay, Hinata took offense on that. “I wasn’t slacking! I just—”

 _Just what?_ Hinata didn’t even know. Something was bothering him so much to the point of him being unable to concentrate on practice. _On practice!_ That never happened before, even when he was fighting with Kageyama back then. Deep down, Hinata somehow could guess what was the reason for it all, but he refused to admit it.

He snapped out of his thought when Tsukishima opened the door to the club room, empty of people, only bags and school uniforms were strewn all over the room. The fact that he was one of the first persons to leave the gym and go inside the club room was another proof that he was not himself today.

“Is it because of Miya-san?” Tsukishima finally turned to look at him.

Trust his friend to spell out the thing he tried so hard to deny.

“You can just ignore his text if you don’t like it. Ever think of that?”

“No, _he_ ignored my messages.”

Tsukishima looked genuinely surprised. “What?”

“He’s been ignoring my messages since yesterday night,” Hinata repeated, walking toward his locker to get his phone. He needed to check whether Atsumu had replied to him or not.

“Let me get this straight. So you’ve been playing poorly today because Miya Atsumu ignored you?”

That made Hinata pause, his phone already in his hand, halfway out from his brown sling bag, Tsukishima’s words hanging above his head, weighing him down. Even without his friend spelling it out for him, Hinata knew that he just let such a trivial thing affect him.

Hinata looked at his phone, and could practically feel how his hands were itching to open it. Tsukishima just stood beside him, waiting for his answer but Hinata honestly didn’t have any that could retaliate what Tsukishima just said.

The taller sighed. “Okay, I actually have been wanting to ask you this. Do you actually like him? Miya Atsumu."

"N-no! I like Miya Osamu-san"

"I mean, even in the first place, I don't get why did you even respond to his messages. And even if you did, why did you not take it as an opportunity to explain yourself, tell him that it was a mistake on your part?"

“You don’t understand, Tsukishima. I just feel responsible for causing the misunderstanding. Atsumu-san had been really nice to me these past few days. He texted me not to disturb me, but to get to know me. I can’t just ignore him.”

“You should’ve been relieved now that he didn’t text you anymore, then. It’s not like you like him, anyway.”

Hinata bit his lower lip, suddenly feeling frustrated because what Tsukishima said was true. It all made sense but he didn't want to admit it. “I said something terrible yesterday. I think I hurt him.”

“Did you tell him that the letter actually isn’t for him?”

“No. Not that. I just said that we shouldn't talk about the date.”

There was no response from Tsukishima this time. From the edge of his eyes, Hinata could see him starting to change out of the training shirt and pack his things into his bag.

Hinata didn't dare to look at his friend of two years, the one who had witnessed every stupid thing he had done. But this was one of the rare times when Hinata felt like he truly deserved Tsukishima's lecture.

Before he knew it, the door to the clubroom was swung open, and Yamaguchi and Ennoshita were seen entering the room. The freckled second year looked surprised when he saw Tsukishima.

"Oh, Tsukki! You're already done changing? Wait for me!"

Yamaguchi strode toward his locker as Tsukishima closed his and locked it. Before he walked away, the tall middle blocker towered over Hinata, looking exasperated, as if talking to his gremlin of a friend with tangerine as the brain was the most exhausting thing.

"The way I see it, the only way you can truly hurt him is if you keep on prolonging to tell him the truth, Hinata. He seems to like you for real," he said, his voice low, not wanting anyone to hear, not even his best friend, Yamaguchi who was changing at the locker beside him. "What you're doing right now isn't only going to hurt him, but also you. So just rip off the band-aid." Tsukishima then brushed past him. "I'll wait outside, Yamaguchi."

"Okay, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi yelled, and his eyes directed at Hinata. "Hinata, are you alright?"

Hinata gave his friend a smile, knowing that if he talked his voice would sound weird, despite the fact that he was sure that he was alright. He _should_ be okay. Especially if he did what Tsukishima had suggested.

_I should tell Atsumu-san._

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Hinata could feel his phone vibrate in his hand. He didn't wait for even a second to check it, and he was sure that his heart stopped the moment he saw Atsumu's name on his screen.

** Inarizaki’s Atsumu-san **

**_shoyo-kun_ **

**_IM SO SORRY_ **

**_i have no excuse other than me feeling a lil bit pathetic for being too excited_ **

**_SO PLS STOP SAYING SORRY BCS IM NOT MAD OKAY_ **

**_shoyo-kun if youre not comfortable with us talking about the date then we dont have to talk about it_ **

**_I promise its okay if we didnt go at all_ **

**_I get that you probably changed your mind_ **

**_lets get to know each other so you can be comfortable with me bcs THATS ALL I WANT_ **

Hinata didn't realize that he was holding his breath the whole time he was reading the message, but he could feel his heartbeat quicken. Excitement? Nervousness? He wasn't sure but he quickly changed out of his training shirt and put on his hoodie and jacket despite feeling a little bit hot right now.

* * *

Hinata did everything he could to delay the thing he promised himself to do. He took a bath, he ate, he even did his homework. But at the end of the day, he knew that he needed to do it.

He would call Atsumu tonight, and tell him.

On the whole way home, Hinata was dreading whether he should tell Atsumu through text, but Atsumu deserved more than that. If Hinata couldn't tell him in person—as he should when they were in Nationals last week—the least he could do was tell him with his own voice, not hiding behind the text on screen.

Hinata made sure that Natsu was settled with her warm milk and her favorite TV series on, before he slipped out to his backyard. Shivers ran through his upper body as soon as he slid the door open, and thought that maybe he should wait to call Atsumu until tomorrow, but he knew it was just another cowardice excuse of his.

So Hinata hugged his grey hoodie tighter, and settled on the porch, his legs dangling above the ground.

When Hinata pulled out his phone from his pocket pants, he could feel his hands shivering from the chills of cold air but the cold was soon forgotten when he opened his phone, and Atsumu’s last message that he received in the locker room earlier was what welcomed him. It had been an hour and a half since Hinata received the message, and he didn’t want Atsumu to wait any longer.

There was no hesitation when he pushed the call button, and as he listened to the first ring of the phone call, the thought that he at the beginning of the week wouldn’t dare to do this crossed his mind. He didn’t know where he got the confidence this time. But thinking that Atsumu deserved way better than being lied to by someone like him was probably what pushed him through.

_"Shoyo-kun?"_

A different kind of chills ran through him. Hinata never talked much with Atsumu, so really, he didn’t remember what Atsumu actually sounded like. But hearing his voice calling his name from across the line just strangely did something to him. "A-Atsumu-san, hello."

_"Is everything okay?"_

"Eh? Ah, yes, yes. I just— Do I disturb you? Should I call later? Or, uh, tomorrow?"

 _"No, no, no. I was just surprised."_ Silent, like Atsumu was composing himself. _"I wouldn't dream that Shoyo-_ _kun would call me first. It's so nice to hear your voice, Shoyo-kun."_

 _It’s so nice to hear your voice too_ , was what Hinata wanted to reply but he held back. He had his confidence, but he wasn’t _that_ confident. He wasn’t there yet. “Are you home yet? Finished with practice?”

_“Yep, just waiting for Samu to be done with bath, and then we’ll play volleyball a little bit outside.”_

“So you usually play at night with Miya-san, Atsumu-san?”

There was no reply from the other side of the line for a few seconds other than a choked sound.

“Atsumu-san, are you okay?”

Still silent, but then Atsumu finally responded with a strangled voice. _“That’s unfairly adorable, Shoyo-kun. I’m seriously gonna brag to Samu as soon as he’s out of the bath that you call him Miya and me Atsumu.”_

Hinata didn't even realize that. “I mean, I don’t really know him. Not more than you.”

_“Of course, and that’s something I gotta brag to him, too. The fact that you’re closer to me.”_

Talking about Miya Osamu just reminded him why he called. And this was his chance. “Uhm, speaking of Miya-san—”

 _“What about you, Shoyo-_ _kun? Do you play with your sibling, too? Natsu, isn’t it?”_

“Eh? Oh, yes! Not every day, but sometimes when I’m not tired yet, I’ll ask her to come to play with me. She usually refused, though. She prefers to watch his favorite series _Bunnyman_.”

_“Ah, I would kill to be able to play with Shoyo-kun every day.”_

Hinata giggled. “But you’re too far, Atsumu-san.”

_“Exactly. It’s so unfair that you’re so far away when I want to see you every day. But at least I can hear your voice now.”_

“You can call me, Atsumu-san. I don’t mind.”

_“Be careful there, Shoyo-kun. You sure you wanna give me the permission? I’m gonna be so clingy, you know? I’ll call you every hour.”_

Another giggle escaped from Hinata’s mouth. He really couldn’t help it. Atsumu was so fun to talk to. “I’ll answer the calls if I could!”

_“You’re an angel, Shoyo-kun. A literal angel.”_

If only Atsumu knew what Hinata did to him, he wouldn’t call him an angel, for sure. At times like this, Hinata wondered if he wasn’t a good person, after all. It was disconcerting to realize that he was about to say the thing that most probably would break this comfortable relationship between them. Sure, at first, Hinata was so afraid of Atsumu. He had avoided him at all cost, feeling nervous every time they interacted, and in the process, kept forgetting to tell him the truth. He realized just how much Atsumu liked him, how genuine of a person he was, and how fun it was talking to Atsumu. Before he knew it, he had formed a comfortable daily routine where it would feel weird if he didn’t talk to Atsumu.

How was he supposed to tell him the truth at this point?

“Atsumu-san.”

_“Hmm?”_

It was now or never. “There's something I need to tell you.”

_“What is it, Shoyo-kun?”_

“It's about… it's about the letter.”

_“Are you embarrassed that there's so many mistakes in it?”_

“Ah, no— Wait, mistakes? I'm sure that I have corrected every mistake I made.”

_“Shoyo-kun, I'm starting to think that maybe our first date should be at the library.”_

There he went again, Hinata was so easily distracted that he kept on straying away from the thing he wanted to say. “Putting that aside, that letter—”

 _“But we can go anywhere.”_ Atsumu cut him off again. But this time, the fondness in his voice made Hinata stop. _“For me if I can be with Shoyo-kun, I don't mind any places. I'll follow you. Name any places that first come up in your mind and we'll go there. And if you don’t want to go, it’s okay, too.”_

That was when Hinata knew that he wouldn’t be able to say it here. No matter how hard he would try to tell the truth to Atsumu, it wouldn’t happen right now with this phone call. He might be not a good person, but he wasn’t that bad of a person to ruin this moment between them. He hurt Atsumu the other day just by telling him that they shouldn’t talk about the date, and Atsumu was gone for a whole day. Hinata didn’t want to imagine what would happen if Hinata told him about the letter, he wasn’t ready to lose… whatever it was that he and Atsumu had right now.

“Let’s go on a date next week, Atsumu-san.” The offer just came out of his mouth without any hesitation. “Isn’t it better if we go before our finals week? So we won’t be distracted?”

 _“That is… what?”_ Atsumu sounded breathless. _“Are you asking me out on a date, Shoyo-kun?”_

Hinata couldn’t hold himself to smile. The absolute shock in Atsumu’s voice was surprisingly a joy to his ears. Relief rushed into him. His decision to prolong telling him the truth this time seemed to be right. “Isn’t that what I said in the letter?”

_“Y-yes, you did, but… I thought you changed your mind.”_

“I wouldn’t say I didn’t but… Let’s just say that I changed my mind again. So my thought just did a full 380° turn. I’m right where I started again now.”

_“You… you had no idea how much I was agonizing since yesterday when you said we shouldn’t go on a date, Shoyo-kun.”_

“I didn’t say that. I just said that maybe we shouldn’t talk about the date, since it seemed like we both weren’t ready to talk about it.”

_“It seemed to me it was just an underhanded statement that we shouldn't go. And no, I was ready. I’m always ready. We can talk about it now. We can even go on a date tomorrow.”_

“Let’s go next week, Atsumu-san.”

Atsumu cleared his throat, tampering down his excitement. _“Okay, next week.”_

“Next week it is.”

There was a sudden sound of wind from the other side of the line that reminded Hinata of the sound of someone making a fist pump, and Hinata just had to inwardly apologize to Tsukishima.

It seemed like he couldn’t fulfill his friend’s suggestion to him anytime soon.

* * *

"So, Tsukishima, I had a date with Atsumu-san today."

_"I know. You've been talking non-stop about it for the past week, in case you don't remember."_

"And we'll have our date here in Miyagi."

_"I know about that too. You told me."_

"But I don't know where we should go. Help me, Tsukishima!"

There was a heavy sigh coming from Tsukishima from the other side of the line, and Hinata flinched. Tsukishima's wrath incoming.

_"I've been listening to you a whole week doing a countdown to your date today, waited when will your stupid brain realize that you will have to plan your date, but you never asked me anything so I thought, oh maybe for once, you're smart. But I see now that I was way too optimistic."_

Hinata groaned, kicking his legs into the air as he laid down on top of piles of clothes on his bed. “My mind was too preoccupied over the fact that I’ll go on a date.”

_“Not my fault. I told you to tell him the truth.”_

“And I told you that I can’t. I don’t want to hurt Atsumu-san.”

 _“And I told you-”_ Tsukishima stopped, and then gave another sigh as heavy as the previous one. It seemed like he was only seconds away from exploding. _“This is getting nowhere. I’m just repeating what I had been saying for a whole week.”_

“I promised that I _will_ tell him. I just want to give Atsumu-san the date I asked from him in the letter. Just one date. After that…'' Hinata gulped, getting up as he saw his reflection in the small mirror in his room. He already dressed up after getting ready one hour ago. He was ready to go to pick up Atsumu, go on their date, and after that… “After that, I’ll tell him.”

 _“Alright,”_ Tsukishima exhaled. _“Whatever. Just update me later. And you should go now if you don’t want to be late.”_

“Wait, what about my question? Where should I bring Atsumu-san, Tsukishima?”

 _“Enjoy your date,”_ was what Tsukishima said with no tone before he cut off the call, leaving Hinata with a loud static tone from his phone and zero ideas of where he should bring Atsumu.

“Aaaaah!” Hinata screamed, jabbing his hair while he was at it.

For a second, he was thinking that it was fine to have the date unplanned, since it would be their first and last date, anyway. But then, exactly because it was to be their first and last date that Hinata should’ve planned this better.

Atsumu at least deserved that.

With heavy heart upon the realization that he might be the worst person on earth, Hinata set out to pick Atsumu up. The only thing that got his heart lighter was the text from Tsukishima with a helpful list of decent cafes and stores around here. He definitely would have to treat Tsukishima with some sweets later.

** Stingyshima **

**_I doubt that you even know that there are stores here._ **

**_But for the love of God..._ **

**_Don’t go to a volleyball gym on your first date._ **

**_Anyway._ **

**_The crepe in that cafe number #2 in that list is really good._ **

**_Good luck._ **

The text came as soon as he arrived at the train station where Atsumu would get off, and Hinata now could at least welcome him with a smile, and be a decent host.

Hinata leaned on one of the pillars, watching people come and go as he tried to listen to every announcement about which train had arrived, and it was more nerve-wracking than he thought it would be, so he ended up pacing back and forth in the same place and receiving weird glances from strangers. He didn’t even feel embarrassed with people’s glances when all he could think about was how he should greet Atsumu later.

 _“Long time no see, Atsumu-san?”_ It had been only two weeks since they last met at Nationals.

 _“How are you, Atsumu-san?”_ He knew practically everything about Atsumu since they texted every day.

 _“I missed you, Atsumu-san?”_ While this might have held a semblance of truth in it, it didn’t seem like a good idea to say this.

Hinata didn’t have any time to think of other options while he felt like his heart slammed against his chest when he saw a familiar blond hair guy with an oversized jacket and a sling bag over his chest passed by the ticket gate.

There were a few things that Hinata predicted would happen to him when he saw Atsumu. Nervous, scared, uneasy were a few of them, but speechless and breathless over how good-looking the boy was were never on the list. Some of the girls and guys around them were fawning over him, and Hinata wanted to do nothing but ran over there and held Atsumu in his arms because _he is his date._

Hinata didn't give himself time to entertain even the idea of him being this obsessed while a second ago he was thinking this would be their only date, and did exactly what he thought he should do. He ran toward Atsumu, running like he was after a ball to spike, and grabbed Atsumu, startling the setter.

"Atsumu-san!"

Atsumu jerked on instinct, but his arms relaxed as soon as he saw it was Hinata who grabbed his hand, his expression loosened, brightened even. So unbelievably bright. "Shoyo-kun! You surprised me. I was starting to wonder where you are."

"I told you I'm waiting by the gate. How's your trip?"

Why did his voice sound so cheery? Why did he feel so happy? Where was all the nervousness he felt up until he landed his eyes on Atsumu? And the fact that Atsumu also kept smiling at him, like he was genuinely happy to be here, made Hinata happy, too.

"I wouldn't know, Shoyo-kun. I was asleep the whole way."

Hinata felt his face fall. "Oh, right, you took off really early."

"It's because you didn't allow me to just take an overnight bus."

"Of course I wouldn't let you. It took 13 hours to get here by bus." Hinata pouted. The thought of Atsumu taking an overnight bus just to meet him was unimaginable. "I shouldn't ask you to come here. The train tickets must be expensive."

"You don't have to worry about that, Shoyo-kun," Atsumu winked at him. "But I won't deny that Hyogo-Miyagi is waaay too far. I can't see Shoyo-kun as much as I want this way."

Atsumu was starting to lean down as he stepped closer, his hands thrown around Hinata, his lips close to his ear that Hinata could feel the rush of warm breath. Hinata could only bend his back backward slightly, trapped on Atsumu's invading space, but despite the initial shock, he strangely didn't mind being… hugged? Was this a hug? He genuinely had no idea.

It lasted only for a few seconds. Atsumu gave his shoulder a firm squeeze before he straightened up, and only then Hinata noticed the tint of red on the setter's cheeks.

"Alright, I only have 4 hours here in Miyagi before my train back, and I don't want to waste even one second of it. So, where are you taking me, Shoyo-kun?" Atsumu asked as he led Hinata out, which made Hinata fluster since he was supposed to be one who led Atsumu. He was the host here, after all.

Shaking off his remaining shock, Hinata tried to remember the list Tsukishima sent him, and the excitement got him giddy that he was jumping with his steps.

"Are you hungry, Atsumu-san? There's this katsudon restaurant that I always go to with Yamaguchi and Yachi, sometimes Tsukishima and Kageyama come along, too. It's reaaaally good, I bet you'll like it. Oh, but then there's this ramen shop that has _amazing_ broth, but you said you like rice more than noodles, right? So let's just go to the katsudon place. Or, do you feel like eating ramen now, since it's cold? What do you think, Atsumu-san?"

Hinata looked up to Atsumu and found the setter smiling down at him with a look that he couldn't describe. He didn't think anyone ever looked at him like that.

"I... Did I talk too much?"

Atsumu shook his head. The look was gone, but the smile remained. He was never not smiling since the first time he arrived. "No, please Shoyo-kun, I love listening to you. And for where we should go… I'll follow you anywhere."

* * *

They ended up going to the katsudon place because it was closer to the station and near the place where Hinata wanted to bring Atsumu next. It took a long time for them to decide what to order since Hinata recommended too many and Atsumu couldn't choose. _"I want to eat your favorite, Shoyo-kun.", "But Atsumu-san, all of them are my favorite."_ So they ended up with what the waiter chose for them instead, and Hinata approved.

If the whole way to the restaurant it was Hinata who couldn't stop talking about his practice the day before, while they were eating, it was Atsumu's time to tell Hinata his plan for the last few weeks as the team captain, and Hinata gobbled down his katsudon as he listened to Atsumu's every word.

"Do you think if I contacted your coaches and asked them for a practice match, they would agree?"

Hinata gulped down the last bit of rice, putting down the bowl with a force of an excited child. "Practice match with Inarizaki? Could we really?"

"I can arrange it." Atsumu folded his hands on the table, he had finished his meal earlier than Hinata. "We faced each other twice in Nationals, that was enough reason to invite you. Besides, this is exactly how I can use my position as the captain to get you to come to Hyogo, isn't it?"

"That would be awesome! I'm sure Ennoshita-san and the others will love to go for a farewell practice match. I heard from Yachi that we got a great number of funds from the school now that our achievement is great. So I don't think it would be troublesome if we go for an away practice match even though we just finished a tournament."

"Great, I'll talk to my coach, then. And speaking of Hyogo…" Atsumu opened his bag, and from inside he took out something that Hinata wasn't really familiar with. "I brought this."

He put the little item right in front of Hinata, and it took a few blinks for him to realize what it was. Hinata looked up, a loud gasp escaped from his mouth, and saw Atsumu smiling proudly at himself. "Is this the gacha merch of _Bunnyman_?"

Atsumu nodded, his grin so wide that his eyes crinkled. "You said Natsu really wanted it, right? But you can't find it here in Miyagi. I found it the other day when I went out with Samu."

Hinata could barely remember that he ever mentioned this to Atsumu in one of their phone call sessions. But of course Atsumu paid attention to him, he always did. He even went out of his way to get it.

"It took me seven tries to get that character, and I wasn't even sure if that's the character that Natsu wanted. Also, I got this for you."

This time, it was a plastic-wrapped black item with the familiar footprints logo on it, and Hinata almost choked up.

"I noticed your hair is getting long, Shoyo-kun. I bet it annoys you to have your hair in the way, also you'll look really good with a headband."

When Hinata looked up again, it was impossible to stop himself from almost tearing up. Was this guy for real? Here Hinata was, telling himself that this would be their last date, barely planning their date, and only came with nothing but clothes on his skin. And here was Atsumu, someone who Hinata falsely gave a confession letter to, who Hinata failed to admit the truth to, who Hinata dreaded to meet, yet Atsumu always did the most.

What kind of a jerk he was to even think to hurt this person?

"I was unsure to give you that, but seeing your reaction right now, I wish I gave you a better gift for our first date, and probably I will see you cry for real," Atsumu chuckled, he put his chin on his palm. "Wear that at practice and send me pics, will you? I want to see how handsome my Shoyo-kun is wearing that."

Hinata shook his head. "No, it's the thought that counts. You can give me anything, and I'll be happy. Thank you for thinking of me, Atsumu-san."

Atsumu didn't respond to that, but it looked like he was holding himself back to say something. He just smiled in the end. "Where should we go next, Shoyo-kun?"

They only had two hours left before Atsumu had to go back, and suddenly Hinata thought it was unfair how time passed by so quickly.

Hinata brought Atsumu to the place where Tsukishima recommended next. Meaning, even Hinata never went there before, so he was similarly as clueless as Atsumu, but never once the setter complained about how messy Hinata's plan was.

First Hinata brought him to the Taito Arcade, the biggest arcade place Miyagi had. All the sentimental feelings caused by Atsumu at the katsudon place were forgotten for a second as he practically dragged Atsumu from one game to another. By the time they played the taiko drum game, Hinata had shed off his jacket and Atsumu took off his scarf, latched it onto his sling bag, and they spent an embarrassing amount of time to match their plays for them to get barely a B for their score. When they realized that their wallets were on the verge of crying out of misery, they decided to stop and exchanged all the tickets they got from the games, only giving them some candies.

They chose a less noisy place next which was a sports store. Hinata insisted that he wanted to buy Atsumu something in return for the headband, although the elder had refused. They didn't stay too long there. Hinata already knew what he wanted to get for the setter. A matching black headband, with yellow stripes on it. Atsumu was, of course, happy with the gift and promised him to wear it at practice.

When they arrived at the karaoke place near the station, stomach full after they went to the crepe shop Tsukishima recommended, it was only forty-five minutes before Atsumu's train departed to Hyogo. It was nowhere near enough, yet more than enough at the same time. They wasted no time choosing the songs despite them not knowing whatever song they should sing since both of them barely knew what kind of songs were popular these days. But not even once did Atsumu stay silent when Hinata began to sing, and never did Hinata stay seated when it was Atsumu’s time to belt out questionably flat notes. When the clock hit 3.45 PM and they knew it was their cue to go, they got out of the karaoke booth breathless with flush on their cheeks.

“Four hours is not enough,” Atsumu yelled as he ran toward the station entrance as soon as they got down the bus that took them from the city to the exact station where Hinata picked him up four hours ago. Groaning, but still with smiles on his face, Atsumu yelled again. “Argh! Why is Miyagi so far away, Shoyo-kun?!”

Hinata couldn’t hold back his laughter, throwing his head back so hard that he unknowingly ran even faster. As he ran side by side with Atsumu, he could feel the joy he usually experienced only when he was on the court, his adrenaline was at its peak.

They were helplessly out of breath the moment they arrived at the ticket gate. Atsumu was clutching his side, unable to catch his breath as he couldn’t stop laughing.

“You’re gonna…” Hinata wheezed. “... miss your train, Atsumu-san. Three more minutes and—”

Hinata could feel his body yanked forward before he crashed into Atsumu. Gently, Atsumu wrapped his arms around him, one of his hands buried in Hinata’s orange, messy hair. For a second, Hinata’s breath hitched, and all he could hear despite the loud noise of the big station was Atsumu’s rapid heartbeats, and all Hinata could feel was how firm Atsumu’s hold on him and the rise and fall of his chest.

“Atsumu-san?”

“Thank you for today, Shoyo-kun.” Atsumu’s voice was almost a whisper right beside Hinata’s ear. “I never felt this happy—No, I probably did, but never… never because of someone like this.”

For once, Hinata felt like his throat was filled with sands. It was hard to speak, it was hard to breathe, and his entire being felt like it was limbless, yet he desperately wanted to cling onto Atsumu, not wanting to let go.

“Thank you for going on a date with me, Shoyo-kun. I don’t— I want… ” Atsumu breathed out, shuddering. And then he exhaled heavily, like he was gathering his whole strength to push his body away, peeling his skin inch by inch from Hinata. When finally Hinata could see his whole face, Atsumu looked happy and sad at the same time, and Hinata didn’t know how it was even possible.

Suddenly, Tsukishima’s words rang in his ears. The letter. The mistake. The truth. Everything that Hinata should’ve had said. Everything that Hinata _could’ve_ said this whole time.

Atsumu didn’t deserve this. Hinata didn’t deserve Atsumu and the way Atsumu looked at him.

So, Hinata gritted his teeth, straightened his back, and swallowed down everything that held him back. “Atsumu-san, about the letter—”

Atsumu kissed him before he finished talking, and Hinata’s heart nearly stopped. It was just a touch, too quick, that Hinata didn’t even have time to react, that he was even sure that not a single person at the station saw it. But it was real, oh so real. Because Hinata’s lips were warm now, and Atsumu’s breath was ragged, and they clung onto each other like they never wanted to let go.

Their trance was broken by the sound of the train arrival announcement, and Atsumu finally let go, walking backward with his eyes not leaving Hinata’s, and he yelled, “I’m always thinking of you, Shoyo-kun!”

And then Atsumu turned his back, half-running as the gate opened on its own when he inserted the ticket he already purchased beforehand. Just like that, he was gone, leaving Hinata stunned as he remembered the words he said at the katsudon restaurant.

_Thank you for thinking of me, Atsumu-san._

_I'm always thinking of you, Shoyo-kun._

* * *

“Tsukishima. I think I fucked up.”

“..........”

“..........”

_“What did you do this time?”_

“Promise me that you won’t call me a moron.”

“ _Depends._ ”

“Atsumu-san kissed me."

“ _... Somehow, I’m not surprised._ ”

“Do you think… Do you think I like Atsumu-san, Tsukishima?”

“..........”

“..........”

“ _Well..._ ”

* * *

On the day of Karasuno’s departure to Hyogo for the Karasuno-Inarizaki practice match, Ennoshita told the team a lot of things, but it could be summarized as the following:

  1. That he would kick everyone out of the train if they even the slightest disturbed the comfort of other passengers.
  2. That this would be the last away practice match under his captaincy and before the third year retired, so please do not get into any troubles on the way there, at Hyogo, and on the way back.
  3. That he was grateful to Hinata for giving them the opportunity to take one last long trip as a team before they, as in the third year, had to say goodbye to the team and they had to solely focus on the exam in two weeks.



Hinata was on the verge of tears in the middle of Miyagi Train Station, standing in between Yachi and Yamaguchi, with his overnight bag across his chest, listening to Ennoshita's very last speech as a captain leading them on a long journey for practice match. This would be the last, the third year didn’t even need to join practice matches any longer since they were retiring anyway, but they wanted to go.

While Ennoshita finished with his little pep talk, Coach Takeda ushered them toward the train platform, and Hinata immediately scurried himself beside his tall blocker friend.

He nudged Tsukishima, earning a groan from the blond. “Sit next to me."

“No way,” the answer was immediate.

“Come on,” Hinata whined. “I need your advice.”

“Can you just get together with Miya-san already, so you can stop bothering me with your unnecessary worries?” It pissed Hinata off that Tsukishima managed to indirectly insult him with a blank face while looking straight ahead. “Besides, what more do you want me to say? And I’m not a love expert. Ask Yamaguchi or Yachi-san.”

Hinata didn’t manage to retaliate since it was time for them to board the train. Everyone was busy with putting all their luggage away and getting comfortable. But people wouldn’t call him Hinata if he didn’t manage to get his way, not even Tsukishima could push him away.

So here was Hinata, sitting beside Tsukishima who hadn’t spared a glance at him, yet Hinata was okay with it, because he knew his friend would listen to him.

It was a five hour ride, and Hinata only talked to Tsukishima in the first hour, but when they finally arrived at Hyogo Train Station, with Hinata still groggy with sleep and his brain hadn’t registered anything other than the fact that he longed for an actual bed to lie down, Tsukishima finally spoke to him—throwing him a question, to be exact—but the questions was an enough ‘advice’ than any advice that he could ever get.

“Your feeling for Miya Osamu, isn’t it just a fleeting admiration? And your feeling for Miya Atsumu, is it truly affection or a mere pity?”

* * *

Hinata didn’t realize it at first, but when they finally stood in front of Inarizaki’s volleyball gym court, it hit him. That he would see _both_ Miya Atsumu and Miya Osamu at the same time after so long. He remembered vaguely the last time it happened, it was at the closing ceremony of the last National tournament. He only took a peek at where Inarizaki stood in line, so far away from Miyagi’s section. Just like Atsumu said on the day of their date, Miyagi and Hyogo were way too far.

He remembered how his eyes fixed on Osamu at first, he just couldn’t help it, his gaze unknowingly found him. He let his gaze linger on the grey-haired spiker for almost a full minute, not listening to whatever said by the National Tournament organizer. And then his gaze was torn, locked onto Atsumu, but only because the blond setter turned his head to look at him. Hinata was too flustered to realize at that time, but he remembered now, the way Atsumu looked at him, from so far away, all the way from Hyogo’s section. His eyes were a wave of longing, before he realized that Hinata was then looking at him, no longer at Osamu, and only then finally there was a semblance of joy coming back to his eyes.

That was exactly one month ago. That meant it was exactly one month ago that Hinata supposedly confessed to Osamu. One month ago Atsumu was the one who received his letter instead. One month ago Hinata swore to not associate himself with Atsumu, that he would go out of his way to avoid Atsumu. And as Hinata stood outside Inarizaki’s volleyball gym building today, he realized how one month seemed to be such a long yet short time for everything to change.

It was only one month for Hinata to change the way his eyes searched for Atsumu first thing he entered Inarizaki’s gym, and how, of course, Atsumu already had his eyes fixed on Hinata. The only thing that changed from Atsumu was how no longer his eyes were sad at first glance, they were so bright because now it was the brown eyes of Atsumu's that Hinata searched for.

“Thank you for having us!” Hinata could hear Ennoshita’s voice, and as if in autopilot, he and the others also bowed and yelled out the same greeting to the larger team in front of them.

When Hinata stood straight again, Atsumu was still looking at him, his smile wide when he yelled out “Let’s have a good game”, then followed by the team behind him. Never once did Atsumu break his gaze from Hinata, trancing him in the moment.

Only when the coaches started to hurry them up to warm up that Hinata finally looked away, and for a second, he caught a glimpse of Osamu and absentmindedly noticed the way his heart didn't react at all.

* * *

This was the third time they were facing each other, but it was obvious that both teams were still enjoying every play the other team had to display. It was the second set, Hinata finally worked up a good sweat and his breath had started to get quicker, as he realized that he hadn’t stopped smiling the whole game because his cheekbones were starting to hurt. Playing with Inarizaki was always so fun, mostly because it felt like they went against their own exact replica of a team.

Hinata was finally rotated to the front as he saw Atsumu take the position in front of him. His already hurting cheekbones hurt even more as his smile widened. “Hey again, Atsumu-san!”

“Shoyo-kun,” Atsumu grinned. “I told you it’s no use being cute in front of me during the game. You won’t distract me.”

Hinata didn’t remember what it was like before this. How did he play against Inarizaki before this again? He knew that he sometimes had a brief talk with his opponents across the net. Sometimes complimenting, sometimes admiring, sometimes provoking, but he didn’t remember having fun to have a once in a while chat like this.

The sound of the whistle signaled them to focus on the game again. This time, Tsukishima was serving, and the ball barely reached the other side of the court, breaking Inarizaki’s front formation as the ball fell right before the net. Inarizaki’s new starting libero dived for the ball, sending it right back to where Atsumu was. From the corner of his eyes, Hinata could see Kageyama and Tanaka were running to his side, getting ready to complete a three-person block for Inarizaki’s attack. Atsumu set the ball to the back where his twin was already midway through his jump. The spike hit Tanaka’s hand so hard that it went out of bounce, making it a point for Inarizaki.

Cheers came from Inarizaki’s side, and Hinata tried once again to think for his next play. Unknowingly trying to sweep away his bang from his forehead, he forgot that he was wearing a headband. Atsumu caught him doing it and threw him a smile.

“Your headband looks good, Shoyo-kun,” he said, out of breath but still managed to sound flirty.

Hinata opened his mouth, about to say _"likewise"_ because the headband he gave also looked good on the setter, but froze when he saw Osamu walking toward them.

“Stop flirting, will you?” The spiker smacked his twin on the head, and Atsumu was visibly surprised.

“What are you doing here, Samu? Go back to your position.”

“I will if you stop flirting with Shoyo-kun.” Osamu looked at Hinata. “Sorry that you had to deal with him every time you’re in the front, Shoyo-kun.”

Hinata was about to answer, but Atsumu cut him off this time.

“Oi, don’t just casually talk to Shoyo-kun.”

“And what are you gonna do, huh?” Osamu taunted, before he looked at Hinata again. “He sucks, isn’t it? Setters are so uncool, us spikers are more amazing, isn’t it, Shoyo-kun?”

Hinata knew it was untrue, all positions are awesome and if he could, he would die to be able to set so beautifully like Atsumu. But he just couldn’t help but smile when he heard someone compliment the position he put his pride on. His smile lightened up hearing that, from Osamu, no less.

“Go back to your position, Samu,” came the order from Atsumu next to him, no trace of his usual playfulness heard. Hinata immediately noticed, raising his eyebrows slightly as soon as he saw Atsumu’s frown. Osamu looked confused as well, but he shrugged it off, probably thought it was nothing. But Hinata wasn’t used to seeing Atsumu like this.

“Atsumu-san?”

Atsumu instantly masked his expression, his pressed lips turned into a smile. “Let’s start again, Shoyo-kun.” Then Atsumu went to his position.

Now, granted, Hinata didn’t see Atsumu often. But even he could notice how Atsumu’s smile earlier looked strangled.

* * *

Karasuno won the first game. Rather easily, since Atsumu seemed to be suddenly off his game. Now that Hinata was even more attentive to how the opponents played, he could easily see how Atsumu didn’t play as he usually was.

Hinata took a glance toward Inarizaki’s side, and saw Osamu and their middle blocker, Suna, slapped their captain on the head and back respectively, seemingly scolding and teasing him at the same time. Atsumu was yelling back at them, at least the frown he was sporting before was gone now.

When his yellow water bottle suddenly blocked his vision, courtesy to Yachi, Hinata finally broke his gaze and focused on replenishing himself, as well as trying to listen to Kageyama and Tsukishima who were discussing about their two-men block plan against Suna. Hinata was only half-listening, the corner of his eyes glued to Inarizaki's side, spotting Atsumu stepping away from the rest of his team. His eyes followed Atsumu, and soon his feet moved, too.

He almost lost the blond setter when he took quite a time to put on his outdoor shoes. Atsumu walked too fast. Almost as if he was trying to run away, to hide.

Inarizaki had a big hill behind the gym that Hinata was having a war flashback remembering all the sprints he did during summer camp at Shinzen Academy. That was why it felt completely unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time to be here. He ran around the back of the gym, looking for the water tap. At least that was the only place Hinata could think of where Atsumu could be heading to. And just like he thought, there was Atsumu. His head under the water tap, water pouring onto his hair, and Hinata could only imagine how cold it must be.

Hinata stayed behind the wall, a safe distance where he could just watch the setter, since he had no idea what he would say if he came to him.

When the Inarizaki's captain raised, shutting off the running water at last, with his hair practically patched to his forehead, Atsumu turned around, grabbing the headband he put off for a while on top of the water tap, as he brushed off his hair in a rough manner. Hinata started to take steps backward, thinking that maybe he should leave him alone, but the frown on Atsumu’s face, the one Hinata thought already disappeared as the match ended earlier, was so apparent that Hinata stood his ground, gripping on the towel on his shoulder.

"Shoyo-kun, what are you doing there?" Atsumu looked star-struck, like seeing Hinata there was the last thing he expected. The setter immediately walked toward him. “Do you need something?”

Shaking his head, Hinata stepped out from where he hid. "No, I was just… I wanted to check on you."

Atsumu slowed his steps, his expression telling that a million things were running through his head.

"Are you okay?" This time Hinata stepped forward, reaching out his hand to give his towel to the Inarizaki’s captain. “Here, towel. It’s already dirty, though.”

Atsumu ignored the comment and just took the towel gladly. "Is Shoyo-kun worried about me? Did I play that bad?"

"Yes. Wait, no! I mean, I was worried about you. But no, you didn't play badly. It's just… You were frowning the whole game after… after we talked by the net in the second set, remember?"

Atsumu avoided his eyes for a second as he dried his hair with Hinata’s towel, then it was as if he masked his expression with a fake smirk. "It's because you guys were good. I was too frustrated, you know?"

"But you always smiled." He looked back squarely in the eyes. "No matter how difficult the game is, you're always smiling when you play, aren't you, Atsumu-san? Yet you didn’t earlier."

The second the sentences rolled out of his mouth, Atsumu’s demeanor changed completely. His walls crumbled and his pretense fell. He opened his mouth to say something, then chuckled, lowering his head to hide his pained smile.

"Shoyo-kun, can I hug you?"

That wasn't the response Hinata expected at all. "Eh? S-sure, but I'm sweaty—"

Atsumu looped his hands around his waist and pulled him into an embrace. His body was rigid at first, but when the initial shock went away, Hinata hugged him back, his hands gripped on Atsumu’s black training shirt, bringing him closer, making him relaxed inch by inch, and a sigh escaped Atsumu’s lips, right beside Hinata’s ear.

"What the hell am I doing?" he rasped.

"Everyone has an off day.” Hinata started to stroke his back. “It's okay, Atsumu-san. You still play really well. That one low toss at the end of the second set was _awesome._ I almost screamed about how amazing it was, but I remembered that we were in the middle of the game and Kageyama will probably smack me if I complimented you in front of him. Also, your jump serves! How can you serve so hard, and fast, and—"

Atsumu suddenly let go, there was an urgency in his gaze as his voice sounded strangled. "Can I kiss you, Shoyo-kun?"

For a moment, Hinata was robbed of breath, his heart slammed in his chest. But Atsumu was biting his lip slightly, his half-dried hair blown by the cool air, the tint of red on his cheeks a striking contrast to his skin, his eyes fixed on him yet dilated and wavering. He looked so, so beautiful that Hinata was unable to look away, a hostage to his amber gaze. "Okay," he whispered.

Atsumu ran the back of his hand down the side of Hinata’s face, making him shivered. He moved closer, buried one hand in his orange hair and slid the other around his waist, and Hinata had closed his eyes by this point because his chest had started to hurt from how hard it beat and he began to feel dizzy as his legs felt weak, but Atsumu got him, holding him firm by the waist.

This wasn’t like their first kiss on the train station two weeks ago. That was a quick and barely-there kind of kiss. But this one. This one…

He felt Atsumu’s breath hit him first before the touch of his lips. And all of a sudden, he could feel his entire fifth senses jolted awake, his entire being only knew Atsumu’s smell, Atsumu’s touch, Atsumu’s taste, and entire Atsumu.

This time, it was a soft brush of lips. A little wet, because Atsumu was trying to taste him, and Hinata wanted to taste Atsumu as well. And it was longer, way longer. In the middle of it, Hinata could tell that it took Atsumu’s entire willpower to not push further. And when Atsumu pulled back, the flush on his cheeks was now deeper and he became even more beautiful in Hinata’s eyes.

Atsumu looked at him with wonder. There was a little crease between his eyebrows as if he didn’t know what to do, like he didn’t know how to process this.

"It's so unfair that you're this adorable." Atsumu put his forehead on Hinata's. "You're gonna be the death of me, Shoyo-kun."

When a crooked smile lit with pure joy spread across Atsumu’s face, Hinata knew. He knew that his Atsumu was finally back, and Hinata couldn’t help but hug the blond setter. Meanwhile, Atsumu’s hands were wrapped around him once more, tucking Hinata’s head right under his chin.

Hinata knew everything was gonna be okay now.

* * *

“Stop smiling, you’re so creepy.”

“Shut up, Tsukishima.”

Like he could help it? Hinata was sure there was nothing that could ruin his mood now. Well, maybe if he suddenly got injured and couldn’t play volleyball again, maybe he would think the world is unfair to him, but as long as that didn’t happen, nothing could ruin his day. He got to play against one of the best high school team in Japan, his own team was also playing great today, his attack and defense were on point in this round that Kageyama hadn’t yelled at him, he got two hugs and one kiss from Atsumu earlier, and Atsumu was back to his usual self and doing really good in this second match after the break.

Hinata only just got rotated in, so he was having a grand time watching from the sideline for the first few points of the game earlier, and watching Atsumu playing in his absolute best was a feast to the eye that made Hinata even more pumped up.

He played in the center back, right behind Tsukishima. The point now was 10-8 for Inarizaki, and from the brief look Tsukishima threw him earlier, he knew that the blocker was planning to trust him to deal with the receive of Osamu or Suna’s spike later, meaning Tsukishima would open a path for him.

Hinata readied himself, his tongue on his lips, hungry for the super receive he knew he would ace later. With a setter like Atsumu, and Osamu and Suna vanguard, he knew the spike would be fast that he wouldn’t have time to see the ball trajectory. He could only rely on his reading and intuition, and Tsukishima.

Tanaka was serving. The jump serve almost got them a point, but Inarizaki’s libero coming in clutch. Atsumu set the ball to Suna, and the twisty middle blocker decided to trick Tsukishima with a rebound.

Hinata’s eyes hadn’t stopped monitoring the whole court, analyzing who would get the ball next, and what moves they would pull. But at the same time he could also put his sub-focus on Atsumu and see how the setter seemed to be elated, absorbed in the game. Likewise, the twin, Osamu also seemed to be so into the game. Both of them looked immersed in the game.

All of a sudden, he remembered how much he came to admire Osamu since their first game together and how much Hinata wanted to be like him. Maybe because Osamu was a spiker, Hinata was drawn to him, never really paying attention to Atsumu when he had Kageyama by his side. But now Atsumu looked so bright in his eyes it was impossible to miss him.

Tsukishima’s questions kept resonating inside his head since Atsumu kissed him at the back of Inarizaki’s gym earlier.

_Your feeling for Miya Osamu, isn’t it just a fleeting admiration? And your feeling for Miya Atsumu, is it truly affection or a mere pity?_

Deep down, Hinata felt like he knew what was the answer already, but his conscience wouldn’t let him. It wouldn’t let him admit that his feelings for Osamu were as shallow as a mere admiration as a volleyball player, and his heart started to grow on Atsumu as a person.

Hinata shook his head, attempted to focus on the game. The ball was still on Inarizaki’s side, and it would take seconds before one of them sent it here. Hinata got into his position, readying his receiving stance, on his left and right were Tanaka and Noya.

Hinata licked his upper lip as he watched the ball was received by Gin, sending it directly to the net, but Atsumu wasn’t there, he was in the position to run to the net while on the other side of the net Osamu was also getting ready to… also run toward the ball.

Hinata gasped and he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Beside him, Noya was whispering under his breath, “Oi, oi, oi, are they for real?”

And Gin, who was just passing the ball, yelled at the twins. “Oi, Twins! It’s dangerous!”

One would think that the two twins were about to do one of their iconic moves, soul swap spike where they tricked the opponents to which one of them would spike and set by doing a criss-cross jumped toward the ball. Karasuno had witnessed the move many times, tricked by it many times, and able to dig it many times, too. So they were pretty accustomed to it as it was their own attack, and they were able to tell that something was off.

For a split second, just in a blink of an eye that most normal people wouldn’t notice, the people on the court and maybe some in the sideline, noticed how Atsumu ran too fast with an approach too short and Osamu ran with all his might with no brake. The moment they realized they would collide, dread flashed in their eyes, and Osamu was the first one trying to stop although he knew it would be all for naught. They were charging too fast and hard.

When they collided, the whole gym could hear the loud crash, sounded like an immense weight thrown at each other at the fullest power, sending them flying. The twins had no time to put their hands up to lessen the blow to the ground, so the sound when both of them fell to the wooden floor was almost like the sound of bags of rice being tossed from high up, and they rolled and spiraled until the force stopped them. Osamu on his back, Atsumu on his side.

Hinata could feel his heart stopped, his brain shutting down, before his body took charge on its own and he ran across and under the net. All he knew was that he needed to get there, he needed to be by Atsumu’s side, he needed to see with his own eyes that Atsumu was fine, unscathed.

Inarizaki’s team already surrounded the team, and Hinata forced himself through, shuffling past them as his heart ran to overdrive, making his chest tight with fear.

“S-sorry, excuse me, please let me— let me through.”

_Atsumu-san. I need to see Atsumu-san._

When he was finally free from the human barricade, he found the two still lying on the floor, with some of the teammates by their side, checking on them.

“Atsumu-san,” Hinata croaked, and Atsumu’s head jerked up. There was a trace of surprise in his pain-laced face.

"Shoyo—" The setter hissed as he was about to sit up, his elbow immediately supported his body. "Dammit."

Hinata quickly dropped to his knees by his side, immediately trying to see if there were any injury, blood, swelling, any signs that could cause Atsumu pain.

"H-hospital. We-we need to go to the hospital," Hinata's tone taking on edge, his mind spiraling.

"I'm okay." Atsumu chuckled, although he still looked pained. "I'm fine, Shoyo-kun. No need to go to the hospital."

"Let's get you both checked by the school nurse. Hopefully, they're stand by today. Gin, Suna, help them up." Fast on his feet, Inarizaki's coach already got Atsumu up with smooth movement.

Hinata's focus was on Atsumu. The setter seemed fine, despite the way he kept clutching his side. That was probably where his body got the hardest hit when he crashed onto Osamu.

Osamu…

A groan came from behind him, and Hinata whipped his head around and found Osamu getting help from Suna. He was practically in the same state as his twin, seemingly in absolute pain but there was no sign of injury.

The fact for a few moments there Hinata didn't realize that Osamu was also down, that all he focused on was Atsumu and making sure that Atsumu was okay, hit him like a whiplash that Hinata froze in the middle of getting up. His fear for Atsumu's well being was replaced by a sudden realization from a blatant proof to the question that he kept on asking himself for the past two weeks since his date with Atsumu.

_"Do you think I like Atsumu-san, Tsukishima?”_

As the answer to that question formed on its own in his mind, Hinata's gaze traveled to his glasses friend standing on Karasuno's side of the court. Tsukishima's expression remained stoic, his eyes on Hinata said nothing, but somehow Hinata could decipher all of that and practically could hear what his friend was telling him right now.

_"Now you know."_

* * *

The situation was rather confusing.

Because Hinata felt like he wasn’t supposed to be here. But at the same time, he knew that he had no right to be _there._ He was from Karasuno. It would be too much confusion if he followed the Inarizaki team taking Atsumu and Osamu to the school infirmary. The fact that he was running under the net to be on Inarizaki’s side of the court to check on Atsumu was already suspicious enough, what more would they think if they saw him go out of his way to follow the injured to the infirmary?

But despite everything, despite knowing that this matter—Atsumu’s well-being—shouldn’t concern him at all, Hinata still wanted to be there. But instead, he was stuck here sitting in between Tsukishima and Tanaka, and all the team, gathered in a circle, resting and waiting for any update.

Tapping his feet nonstop, Hinata kept on throwing his glances toward the other side of the gym, and still found that the fox team also seemed to be still waiting for an update about their captain and vice-captain. The wait was slowly killing him, and Hinata was starting to think that maybe he should just check it by himself.

“Can you stop moving your feet?” Tsukishima hissed on him. “It’s really annoying.”

Hinata opened his mouth, the retort was at the tip of his tongue, but he closed it again, knowing that it would only get him more agitated. He lowered his head instead, gripping his jersey shorts tighter with his finger, forcing his feet to stop tapping.

Seeing Hinata didn’t make any comeback to him probably threw Tsukishima off guard, that he went silent for a while although Hinata slightly expected the blocker to tease him. After a while, he sighed.

“You know, if you’re _that_ worried,” he trailed off, and Hinata looked at him. “You can message him or something. Ask him if he was okay.”

Tsukishima wasn’t even looking at him, so he probably didn’t see how Hinata’s face suddenly lightened up. “Tsukishima, you’re a genius!”

“I’m not. It’s just that you lack problem-solving skills,” he replied but Hinata only heard half of it, since he already got up and ran to where they put their bag together in one corner of the gym.

He immediately looked for his bag and fished out his phone. With a drumming heart, he typed the one thing he needed to know the most, hoping that Atsumu would see it later.

** Me **

**_Atsumu-san how are u???_ **

**_they havent told us anything and i started to worry :(_ **

**_i hope that ur ok!!_ **

**_and miya-san too ofc_ **

**_i hope both of u are fine!_ **

**_u dont have to reply if u didnt feel well_ **

**_just contact me some time_ **

**_im waiting_ **

**_but dont push urself!!_ **

**_pls be okay atsumu-san_ **

****

Hinata probably would send more messages if he didn’t hear the commotion. The Inarizaki team and the coach who brought the twins to the infirmary had come back, but without the twins. For a second there, Hinata’s heart dropped. He quickly put away his phone, and ran back to his team.

He picked on the fabric of his towel as he waited for Coach Ukai and Takeda Sensei to talk with Inarizaki’s coach. He was sure that it didn’t even last two minutes, but it felt like hours before their coaches were finally back.

Coach Ukai stood before them. “The twins are okay. They’re lucky they only got some bruises, so now they’re resting. We will proceed with the practice match. Are you guys still warmed up? If not, start warming up again. You have ten minutes.”

Hinata only heard the first sentence, releasing a pent-up breath, and tuned out the rest. His feet trembled and the ground under him wobbled from the sheer relief rushing through him. He finally could breathe normally now.

The hours after that felt like a blur. This was the first time that Hinata had to force himself to concentrate on the game. At least, he still played well, although at the back of his mind he couldn’t stop thinking about Atsumu.

The matches went great, as usual whenever they went against Inarizaki. He even managed to try a new combo trick with Tsukishima. And he also did pretty decent digs here and there.

So when the sky had begun to turn orange, they finally bowed to each other, and they went to pat each other’s back as well as catching up, Hinata ran to fetch his phone again. Still out of breath from the multiple intense plays, the lips that he had chewed for the past three hours were finally released as it pulled into a smile. Atsumu replied to his text.

** Atsumu-san :D **

**_shoyo-kun!!_ **

**_Im fine :D_ **

**_Just a nasty bruise on my side_ **

**_no serious injuries for the both of us_ **

**_Thank you for worrying about me_ **

**_And samu_ **

**_im so aksjsksks_ **

**_Happy :(((_ **

**_Seeing u worried like that for me made this incident worth it_ **

**_I want to see u shoyo-kun_ **

**_Lets meet before you go back to your inn_ **

**_I need to talk to you about something_ **

**_I dont think coach will like it if he sees me at the gym so_ **

**_Meet me at the hill we met earlier?_ **

**_I'll go there as soon as i can move_ **

****

Hinata sucked in a breath. He had things that he needed to tell, too. Something that he should’ve said since a month ago. He had so many chances to reveal the truth, but he was too much of a coward. This time… for sure.

The text was sent around an hour ago. Could it be that Atsumu already waited there?

He made sure with Ennoshita that they would still be here for a while, and the captain assured him that they wouldn't leave him behind. After he changed his clothes, Hinata excused himself, slipping away in discrete as to not attract anyone's attention who was still busy cooling down and cleaning.

"Shoyo-kun, going already?"

Startled, Hinata yelled a silent yelp. The nickname was familiar, but the voice was the different one from the one who usually called him that. Hinata almost fell from the gym's stairs when he saw Miya Osamu in front of him, looking fairly well despite his haggard appearance, probably because he had been resting all this time.

"Miya-san," Hinata gasped. "Why are you here? Are you well enough to move around?"

The Inarizaki's spiker tilted his head, looking into the gym. "I'm fine, Shoyo-kun. Just checking if my brother is here, since he went ahead before me looking all excited and nervous." Then he shifted his eyes to Hinata. "It seemed like he couldn't wait to see someone, I wonder who they are."

"Uhm, yeah, I just saw his text that he wanted to see me." Hinata felt his ears burning. Talking to Miya Osamu was one thing, but the fact that he probably knew about Hinata and Atsumu's relationship was making it awkward. Especially when Hinata was still standing on the stairs, while the ash grey-haired boy was at the bottom, allowing Hinata to see him eye to eye.

Osamu chuckled. "Can't believe Tsumu actually managed to get you, Shoyo-kun."

"Huh?"

Osamu looked around, then grabbed Hinata's hand, dragging him away from the gym to the secluded place behind it. In fact, it was near the hill where he and Atsumu met earlier and promised to meet later.

"So," Osamu started after he made sure they were alone. "Tsumu has always liked you since our first match last year. Literally never stopped talking about you that by this point, I just tuned him out every time he did. I'm sorry, Shoyo-kun, you're fine, but my brother is insufferable."

It probably would break his heart if Hinata still _thought_ that he liked Osamu, but now, after the realization earlier, his heart indeed did a somersault, but for entirely different reasons.

_Atsumu-san has liked me since then?_

That flattered him deeply, but as soon as he remembered how all those times he thought he liked Osamu, while Atsumu liked _him_ , his stomach churned. Not that it was his fault, he knew. He couldn't choose who his heart wanted, and he didn't know that Atsumu liked him at that time. But the fact that he just _had_ to write a letter supposedly addressed to Osamu, but it was Atsumu who received it… This was too much of a mess that he needed to clear up.

"When he got that love letter from you, not gonna lie, I thought that it must be a mistake." Osamu chuckled, and Hinata could hear his heart cracked. "But he was so happy. I don't think I've seen him that happy for a reason outside volleyball. So happy that my doubt was replaced by gratitude. Because one, _finally_ I don't have to listen to him crying about his unrequited love. And two…" he trailed off, taking one step closer, and suddenly ruffling Hinata's hair. "Who wouldn't be happy when their twin finally got the love of his life?"

Osamu's voice was carried by the cold wind, and it took all of Hinata's strength to not run away. But he was done. He had enough running away. He had to clear this all up for good. He wanted to be together with Atsumu without this secret between them.

"It's kinda weird, though," Osamu continued, his hand still lingering on top of Hinata's head. "After he met you to confirm the letter, he looked slightly… sad, and angry at me. And whenever I asked him about you, he only glared at me. And recently he didn't really talk about you as much with me either—"

"The letter was actually for you, Miya-san," Hinata said, half-yelling to the ground, unable to raise his head. Why did he even tell Osamu about this? Frustration maybe, but blurting it out felt so good.

Hinata could feel Osamu's hand froze on the top of his head. Then it fell down slowly, the fingers got caught in his messy hair. "What?"

"I wrote that for you. But somehow, it got— I think I put it in the wrong bag. I don't— It's completely my fault. And I… I want to make this right. I have so many opportunities to tell Atsumu-san, but I'm— I'm such a coward, while Atsumu-san has always been so… so… I don't deserve his kindness and— and his heart. But I'll tell him soon. I promise I will tell him as soon as I see him, because… because I…" Hinata raised his head, still feeling embarrassed but determined to show Osamu that hurting his twin was the last thing he wanted. "Because I realized that I actually lik—"

"Tsumu…"

Hinata stopped, and only then he noticed that Osamu wasn't looking at him anymore. He was looking at something… someone… _Tsumu_ , behind Hinata.

No.

_No, no, no. No way._

Hinata turned around, and there was Atsumu, standing only a mere five feet away from them. He looked fine just as he said, only his right hand clutching to his left side, probably where the _nasty_ bruise was. But as if he didn't even have the energy to hold onto his clutch, his hand fell to his side.

For all seventeen years of his life, Hinata believed he had seen practically everything. But never had he seen someone so destroyed, that it looked like his body was crumbling down.

Hinata stumbled forward. "A-Atsumu-san…"

Atsumu stepped back. His lips forced a smile, but it lasted only a second. "I was waiting for you at the hill, but it took you so long so I thought I should pick you up. I see you guys talking. Sorry for interrupting, you can… you can continue."

Then Atsumu turned and disappeared in an instant.

Cursing to himself, Hinata started to run, almost at the same time Osamu was also running after his brother.

"That idiot," Osamu muttered, and Hinata grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"Let me talk to him, Miya-san." Osamu looked doubtful. "I'll make this right. I promised."

The grey haired spiker threw his head back, frustrated, "I swear to God, Shoyo-kun—"

"I know I'm an idiot, but hurting Atsumu-san is the last thing I want. So please, let me talk to him."

Osamu scrunched his nose, looking between Hinata and where his brother disappeared back and forth, before he exhaled. "Alright, go."

Hinata waited no more and prayed that his quick feet could bring him to Atsumu as fast as he could before he couldn't find him anywhere. When he arrived at the spot where they met earlier and he didn't see Atsumu, bile immediately rose in his throat. _Where the hell is he?_

Grass sound at the top of the hill, and Hinata never whipped his head around so fast. Reliefs almost knocked him over as soon as he found the blond setter was picking his bag up at the hilltop by a large tree. Was that where Atsumu had been waiting for him?

With his heart on his throat, Hinata dashed toward the top. He wouldn't let Atsumu go this time. He called him as soon as he was near him.

"Atsumu-san—"

"You don't have to say anything, Shoyo-kun." Atsumu slung his bag across his chest, his eyes avoiding Hinata's. "I heard what you said."

"No, I have to say this, and you have to listen to me, Atsumu-san. That letter—"

"You like my brother and that letter is actually for him. I _know_ _—_ _"_

"Could you stop cutting me off and _please_ listen to me for a second?"

Atsumu flinched, and for the first time, he finally looked at Hinata. _God,_ the way he looked at him. Hinata wanted to wipe away that fear and pain in his eyes so bad.

And the only thing to do that, was by being honest. So Hinata stepped forward, despite Atsumu taking a step back each time he did. But all this time, Atsumu had always been the one who took the step forward, and Hinata was the one who always backed down. So this time, it was his turn. If Atsumu took a step back, Hinata would double his steps, so he could catch him.

He was momentarily robbed of breath at how beautiful Atsumu was. The golden light of the sunset only made his hair shine brighter, creating an ethereal halo above him. If only they weren't in this sour situation, Hinata would tell him just how pretty he was.

He let Atsumu have nowhere to go between him and the tree, and only then Hinata started.

"Yes, that letter was supposed to be for Miya-san, and it's true that I _liked_ him." His voice shook, but Hinata gritted his teeth. He was scared but he must go on. "It's my fault that I put it in the wrong bag, and I've been wanting to tell you the truth since the first time you approached me, but I kept missing the chance because you always looked so… so… Anyway, it's not your fault, Atsumu-san. It's me who was a coward, but I intended to tell you today. I want to come clean so I can tell you my real feel—"

"I knew about the letter."

Hinata stopped, his tongue froze. Of all things he expected Atsumu would respond with, this wasn't on his list.

"What?"

"I knew that the letter wasn't for me from the start." Atsumu's laugh was strangled and harsh. "I mean, you looked so confused when you saw me holding your letter. You looked really shocked, but not from embarrassment or anything, but from confusion, you know? I could immediately tell that it wasn't actually for me."

Hinata could barely keep up. Atsumu's voice sounded so far away. It was as if he was underwater and Atsumu was trying to talk to him from the surface. Everything was just too confusing.

"It made me really happy though, for a moment. I found the letter on my bag, and your letter is so sweet." Atsumu's face darkened like a storm cloud. "I should've known from the content that it's… for a different Miya-san. I bet you spent so much time writing that letter, right? You poured out all your feelings into that letter but I trampled that by keeping silent. Keeping that letter to myself as if it was mine to begin with."

Hinata shook his head. "No… Atsumu-san, I get it. It's oka—"

"I'm not the kind and selfless person that you think I was, Shoyo-kun. I kept hiding the fact that I knew, I kept avoiding the conversation every time you brought up about the letter, I got jealous the moment I saw you talk to Samu and lost my cool in the game, I used your kindness because I knew you would never push me away, I seized the chance of you and Samu being together because I'm _selfish_."

Through his blurry vision, Hinata saw Atsumu's tears welling up. His chest heaved up and down and the setter was quiet as he raked his fingers through his hair. He looked so in pain, so lost.

"I wanted you. So much. And for some selfish reason, I needed you to feel the same way.”

Hinata's heart dropped as he saw the tears finally fall down Atsumu's cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Shoyo-kun. I just—" His voice low and tortured. "I'm so sorry."

Hinata's mind went blank, and when Atsumu suddenly disappeared from sight, running down the hill as he rubbed his eyes with his shirt, Hinata couldn't do anything. His feet glued to the ground, and deep down he realized that, even though he said to himself that he wouldn't let Atsumu go, he did in the end.

* * *

**SUNDAY**

** Me **

**_Atsumu-san_ **

**_Good evening_ **

**_Just wanted to tell you Ive arrived home :)_ **

**_And thank u_ **

**_I know that ennoshita-san probably already thanked you but_ **

**_I want to thank you for the invitation_ **

**_We had a really great time there_ **

**_How is ur bruise btw?_ **

**_Dont forget to apply the balm_ **

**_I hope ur feeling better atsumu-san!_ **

**_Lets talk soon :)_ **

****

**WEDNESDAY**

** Me **

**_Atsumu-san (* >ω<)_ **

**_How are u??_ **

**_Havent heard from you in three days_ **

**_Im starting to worry :(_ **

**_I know ur probably busy_ **

**_I just need to know that ur alright..._ **

****

**SATURDAY**

** Me **

**_FINALS IN TWO DAYS ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ_ **

**_good luck on ur final exam atsumu-san!!_ **

**_With no practice for the past week_ **

**_Tsukishima yamaguchi and yachi-san had been grilling me and kageyama with study :(_ **

**_Fingers crossed we will pass all the subjects :D_ **

**_We'll go to the shrine today to pray_ **

**_I'll say ur name in my prayer too atsumu-san_ **

****

****

**FRIDAY**

** Me **

**_GWAAAAAH_ **

**_FINALLY_ **

**_ITS DONE_ **

**_I feel like im dying but thank god its done_ **

**_Wish i can celebrate with you..._ **

**_But pls know that im happy for u :D_ **

**_Congrats for finishing high school atsumu-san!!!!_ **

**_I miss talking to you_ **

****

** Me **

**_Good afternoon miya-san_ **

**_Hello!_ **

**_This is hinata shoyo_ **

**_I got your number from my captain_ **

**_Sorry to disturb you in your final day in high school but_ **

**_Can i talk to you about atsumu-san for a min?_ **

****

****

****

* * *

****

****

****

"What is wrong with you today?"

The first one who froze was Yamaguchi and Yachi, and then Tsukishima, and then Hinata was the last one who noticed that the question that Kageyama threw was actually directed at him.

"Huh?" Hinata blinked. "What do you mean?"

With his mouth full, Kageyama closed the door to Coach Ukai's store. He was the last one out. "You don't usually reject my offer for practice. Exam's already over anyway."

Hinata flinched at that, and the others could only steal glances at him. He was glad that Tsukishima at least knew about his situation, so his blocker friend stepped in, albeit adamantly.

"It's amazing how you only realized today, King. I must salute your obliviousness." Tsukishima started to walk away.

"What?" Kageyama followed. "What do you mean? Did I miss something?"

Well, Hinata couldn't really blame his setter. It wasn't like he was all sad and in tears the whole time. However, while Kageyama just realized the change in him today, the others surely noticed it probably right away. He hadn’t looked into the mirror since he came back from Hyogo. Two weeks. He bet he looked like hell from the stress he mounted up.

As Hinata walked down the street by the rice field, the road he had taken with these people closest to him so many times, he pulled out his phone. Still nothing.

The sigh he let out was heavy. And before he knew, Tsukishima was already beside him.

"Still no reply from him?" he asked, his voice low, not letting the others walking in front hear him.

Hinata shook his head, his silence was enough of an answer.

"I've been telling you—"

"Don't say _I told you so._ " Hinata pouted. "It's not like I didn't know already."

"Well, I held back from saying that for a whole two weeks." The taller boy shrugged, crumpling the paper wrapper of the meat bun he had been eating and throwing it at the nearest bin. "Although I must say I didn't expect that he already knew about the letter."

And just like that, Hinata's chest felt like it was filled with sand once more. Just like the first time he learned the truth from Atsumu, just like any other times he remembered that, _gosh_ , Atsumu knew all this time that he liked his twin. Thinking about how much it must've hurt him to hide it only tore his heart into pieces all over again.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Since I can't reach Atsumu-san, I'm still waiting for Miya-san to reply to my text. It's their last day at school. They're probably still celebrating."

"So you're trying to get him back," Tsukishima said, not a question, just a matter-of-factly, with a straight face looking ahead of the road, like he understood just from what Hinata said even though he didn't say anything about trying to win Atsumu back, like he knew that Hinata wouldn't give up, wouldn't back down, not like this.

Hinata could only look at his friend with a new blooming confidence, and for the first time in what felt like a really long time, he smiled. "Yes. Yes, I am."

As Hinata walked down the street by the rice field, the road he had taken with these people closest to him so many times, he looked down at his phone once again. Still nothing. But disappointment wasn't what crept on him.

He knew what he wanted. He had considered a few of the options that could take him to the things he desired. He got the determination to make this right. So really, he got all he needed.

Except he still needed to talk to Osamu first.

When he arrived home, Hinata had steeled his heart to try to text Osamu once more. And if he still had not received any replies from him for whatever reason, he would call him, and hoped for the best from there.

He did his usual ritual after coming home. Eating dinner, taking a bath, stretching, so his mind was preoccupied for a moment. He absolutely had not prepared his heart when he saw the 3 missed call notifications from **Inarizaki's Miya Osamu** , as well as a reply from him.

** Inarizaki's Miya Osamu **

**_Hey shoyo-kun_ **

**_I'll call you lets talk_ **

****

Hinata's eyes widened, and he didn't even have time to think of what to do—Message him back? Call him back?—before his phone vibrated again. Osamu's caller ID glared at him through the screen.

Hinata immediately scrambled on his feet, with Natsu judging eyes following him. Only when he shut the door to his room that he slumped down to the floor. He looked at his phone, still vibrating, and his shaking thumb swept over to answer the call.

"Miya-san?"

_"Took you long enough. If Tsumu finds out I'm calling you, it's over. So make it quick."_

"I— Yes— okay, uhm…" There was something in Osamu's voice that forced him to sit straighter. "How is Atsumu-san?"

_"What do you think, Shoyo-kun?"_

It wasn't that Osamu snapped at him, but Hinata winced nonetheless.

There was a sigh from the other side of the line. _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to patronize you._ " His tone was a little softer now. _"Well, he's been… better. All I can say is that, he's lucky that he didn't plan to go to college because I bet no college will take him and poor ass final grades."_

"Is it that bad?"

_"He barely ate and slept, let alone studied for finals. He's really heartbroken, Shoyo-kun."_

"I'm sorry." Hinata's head hung low, his fist tightened the hold on his phone. "I told you I'm going to make this right."

_"You both are idiots. Well, more of my brother. He acted like it's the end of the world while it's clear that you like him, not me. I seriously can't handle him."_

"Did you… did you fight?"

_"Nah, but he avoided me for a couple days. At least no longer than when I told him that I will quit volleyball."_

The last sentence almost made Hinata stand up. "You're gonna quit volleyball? Wait, why?"

_"I have other things that I want to do."_

"B-but, Miya-san, you—"

 _"You know, Shoyo-kun."_ Somehow Hinata could hear the smile on the older man's voice. _"This got me thinking, even if that letter didn't end up in Tsumu's bag and it found me, and if somehow we ended up getting along and going on a date, I don't think we're gonna hit it off. Since you only admired me for my volleyball skills, after all."_

That made Hinata smile. It was exactly like Tsukishima said. And how it was so obvious in his letter. "Did you read the letter?"

 _"Tsumu gave_ _—_ _no, more like, throwing it at me after I told him to stop avoiding me. Before that, he never even let me touch it."_

"Because he knew that the letter was actually for you." This conversation was getting difficult by the minutes.

_"Look, my idiot brother really likes you. I believe he might even love you, but it's not for me to say. And right now he has this huge guilt looming over his head thinking that he had ruined our chance to be together. Which is stupid because we don't have that. No offense, Shoyo-kun, I like you, but not in that way."_

"None taken."

 _"He's stubborn, so he won't reply to your message, although I knew he's dying to do it. He likes you, and you like him just as much. I mean, you ran to him first thing after we collided, for God's sake. So please,"_ he paused, and exhaled an exhausted sigh. _"Do something."_

And this was exactly why Hinata desperately needed to talk to Osamu. "When is your graduation, Miya-san?"

_"In two weeks, why?"_

Hinata bit his lip. "That's too long."

 _"Oh, I see now."_ There was a confusion before in his voice, but he sounded excited now. _"Well, we have a farewell gathering arranged by the volleyball team on Monday. So… if you're interested?"_

"Yes! That's perfect!"

_"Alright. See you in three days. Bring flowers or something to surprise Tsumu."_

Hinata felt warm inside. He was glad that he got the chance to talk to his former crush. No more confusion over his feelings, and he was ready to confront Atsumu with all his heart.

The call ended, and Hinata now had new problems: How to get money for Shinkansen in two days. And plan what he needed to bring, maybe not flowers, but something else...

* * *

The first thought that crossed Hinata's mind as soon as he was awakened by the shaking bus because of a speed bump on the road was that, love was troublesome. But to be fair, it probably wouldn't be this troublesome if he had some money in his pocket so he could pay for a 5 hours Shinkansen, instead of a 13 hours overnight bus.

Hinata groaned, his body ached all over but his neck was the biggest victim even though he had chosen the window seat. He peeked over the curtain first thing, and found that the world outside had finally turned bright after the endless dark night that was his view last night before sleep consumed him past midnight.

Not only the bright sky made him smile, but the familiar scenery, scenery that he just saw a couple weeks ago, welcomed him. It meant he finally reached Hyogo. He would _finally_ see Atsumu again. And didn't that thought just made his heart bloom like the cherry blossom that started blooming to welcome the spring.

He was in the middle of yawning and his eyes were still half-opened when his phone vibrated. A message from Osamu.

** Inarizaki's Miya Osamu **

**_Have u arrived yet?_ **

**_Pls tell me im worried here_ **

**_i dont want to be responsible for the disappearance of tsumu's boyfriend_ **

****

** Me **

**_Im not atsumu-san's boyfriend!!!_ **

**_Yet (｡•́︿•̀｡)_ **

**_And im in hyogo already!!!_ **

**_13 hours phew~_ **

**_I think im just a few minutes away from my stop at hyogo station_ **

**_Will clean myself there and eat before going to inarizaki_ **

**_U sure its ok for me to be there by lunchtime? :(((_ **

****

** Inarizaki's Miya Osamu **

**_Jesus christ 13 hours_ **

**_U really love my brother huh_ **

**_Tsumu is SO gonna kill me when he knows i let his bf going alone here by bus_ **

**_The farewell will be done by noon so make sure u arrive by then_ **

**_Dont be late_ **

**_See u later shoyo-kun_ **

****

** Me **

**_Why would he kill you for that im a big boy ˙˚ʚ(´◡`)ɞ˚˙_ **

**_Alriiiight see u later miya-san!!!_ **

**_Have fun with the team :D_ **

The next time Hinata saw Osamu again was two hours later after he was finally out of the bus and fresh from the overnight commute, as well as a full stomach, just like he informed Osamu. It was the first time he went around an unfamiliar city alone, and honestly, it cleared his mind more than he expected.

Now, the clock showed that it was right at the middle of the day, after ten minutes of waiting at the big entrance gate of Inarizaki High School, Osamu greeted him.

“Yo, Shoyo-kun!” he waved, looking rather relaxed in his training clothes. “You arrived in one piece.”

Ignoring Osamu’s last comment, Hinata trudged toward Inarizaki’s vice-captain with his shoulders high, trying to hide his face. “Miya-san, is this really okay? It seems like there are still some students around.”

“The school year is practically over and only some clubs and student council members are coming to school, so you’re fine, Shoyo-kun. But, maybe you should wear this.” Osamu moved to take off his jacket. The maroon team jacket that Hinata secretly adored because it looked so cool. “So you won’t stand out.”

Hinata immediately took and put it on top of his own hoodie. His mind didn’t really register anything other than the fact that it was awesome that he got to try Inarizaki’s team jacket. He was in the middle of admiring it when Osamu turned around and walked off.

“Alright, so,” Osamu said after Hinata managed to walk beside him. “Basically, you wait and I’m gonna tell Tsumu that someone is waiting for him.”

Nodding excitedly, Hinata beamed. “Yep, just like I told you yesterday.”

“Well, that should be easy. But maybe wait for around ten minutes? I think the juniors still have something to show us.”

“Take as many times as you want, Miya-san. I can use some time to prepare myself.”

Osamu chuckled. “If anyone has to prepare themselves, it’s Tsumu. He might faint seeing you here.”

“You think?” Hinata grimaced. “He could run away again like last time.”

Osamu didn’t say anything. He brought Hinata to the back of the gym, the hill where Atsumu left him a few weeks ago. What were the chances that he might get left behind again this time, in the exact same spot? Maybe Hinata overreacted, but in his opinion, it was fair for him to think that it would happen again. And if it did happen again, he didn’t know if he could handle it. The hurt and the pain.

“You know.” Osamu pushed him forward, climbing the hill toward the big tree. Hinata didn’t even realize that he had stopped walking. “Tsumu is an idiot, but he’s not stupid.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It doesn’t make sense, I know. But what I’m trying to say is…” They were right below the tree as they came to a stop. “He likes you more than anything. His feelings for you are bigger than his idiocy, so…”

Hinata smiled at that, touched by the awkward attempt of the twin of the man he loves trying to reassure him. “Thank you, Miya-san.”

“No, thank _you._ ” It was the first time Hinata saw the other man smile so fondly. “Thank you for coming here. For doing this for Tsumu. He probably doesn’t deserve you, but thank you for thinking he does.”

“He _does_.”

Chuckling, Osamu nodded. “I’m glad that it’s you that he loves, and it’s him that you love.”

A prick behind his eyes, Hinata pressed his lips tight, suddenly feeling rather emotional as he saw Osamu took steps backward. He was really thankful for all the things the elder had done.

“Miya-san, I still admire you even if you stopped playing volleyball. I believe that you’ll be as amazing at the new things you wanna do, and… and…” he trailed off, empty of words that could represent how grateful he was. “Thank you,” he ended up saying, but Osamu got the message.

“Anything for my future brother in-law.” Osamu grinned, and that was the last of him that Hinata saw before he turned around, running down the hill toward the gym, where Atsumu and the rest of the volleyball team probably were right now.

Completely alone now, Hinata let out a shuddered sigh as he plopped down on the grass, resting his back at the strong trunk of the tree. When he looked up, he realized that the tree was a cherry blossom one with sakura buds beginning to show up. And that weirdly made his heart at ease.

It still felt surreal, even when he was already back at the place where they left off. He was really here. A thousand kilometer away, thirteen hours away from home. It was a long way, but it was just how much faith Hinata put in Atsumu, in them.

But Hinata was also just an ordinary human. Tsukishima told him not to worry, Osamu even called him his future brother in-law, yet he worried. Because what if… What if Atsumu didn’t—

“What in the world…”

Scrambling to pull himself to sit straight, Hinata glanced around to see where the voice came from. He took a sharp breath when he saw a familiar blond figure that had appeared in his dreams numerous times in the past two weeks walking up toward him.

“Atsumu-san…” Suddenly, it was too difficult to breathe.

“Shoyo-kun.” Confusion dripping from his eyes, like he was just witnessing snow in summer. “Samu said there was someone waiting for me, and it's you? What are you doing here?”

Finally gathering his strength, Hinata got up, leaving his bag on the ground. As Atsumu was now in front of him, he strained his neck to look up, not wanting to tear his gaze away from the setter’s face. He missed him too much. “I’m… I’m here,” he mused, stating the obvious.

“How can you be here?”

“By bus.”

"That’s not what I mea— Wait, by bus?” The horror in Atsumu’s face doubled. “You came here by bus? For thirteen hours?”

“Because you won’t reply to my text messages at all!”

“That doesn’t mean you can come all the way here by bus. For God’s sake, Shoyo-kun, what are you thinking? Something could— you get fever when you lack rest, don’t you? And did Chikara-kun know about this? And Samu as well? I'm seriously gonna kill them. Wait here, I'm gonna call them.”

This was not what Hinata expected. He wasn’t hoping for Atsumu to cry tears of joy upon seeing him, sure. But he didn’t expect him to be so… livid like this either. Atsumu had one of his hands grabbing his hair frustratedly, and the other one tapping on his phone furiously. The blond had his phone halfway toward his ear, but stopped when—

“Do you hate seeing me here, Atsumu-san?” Hinata muttered, and Atsumu immediately snapped his head back on him.

“No, Shoyo-kun, I— Dammit.” He cut off his call and put back his phone inside his pocket, facing the shorter boy once more. “I’m just confused, and angry that you were so reckless.”

“I came here because you didn’t reply to my text. You won’t talk to me,” he bit out every word. Hinata fully planned to have a civil talk with him, but now he was just mad. “I ran out of ideas to make you talk to me so I came here.”

“And what do we need to talk about, Shoyo-kun?” he sounded exasperated. His breathing was short, shaky, and sharp. “I told you everything that day. I _lied_ to you. That whole time I texted you, I called you, and we went on a date, I pretended to not know that the letter isn’t for me. I knew the whole time you liked Samu, but I still forced you to do all that while knowing full well how reluctant you were doing it and stopped you every time you wanted to tell the truth.”

“Why do you keep talking like all of this is your fault while it’s not? _I_ was the one who put the letter in your bag by mistake. _I_ was the one who couldn’t tell you the truth immediately. And _I_ was the one who kept on talking to you and agreed to go on a date with you while I clearly knew that I was wrong to keep dragging you along instead of telling you the truth. So stop doing this to yourself, Atsumu-san. We are both wrong and you already apologized to me, and I told you it’s okay. I came here so we could put all of this behind and move forward.”

“And what, Shoyo-kun?” Atsumu scoffed. “You might’ve forgiven me, but what about you and Samu? You like him, don’t you? And I stole the chance that both of you have. I stole the happiness that my twin brother could’ve had if only I wasn’t so much of a selfish person. Are you saying that you accept me now? Because why would you, right? When all I did is lie, and being lame and uncool and—”

Hinata had enough. He truly was fed up with all the bullshit Atsumu spouting nonstop, so he stepped forward, his face practically a mere inches from Atsumu’s chest. "When will it get through that thick head of yours that I'm _here_? Right in front of you, choosing you. Your lies, your guilt, everything about you you think uncool or lame, I'll take it because all of you belong to me."

Atsumu froze. His eyes, previously filled with fear and anger, widened and started to soften. It was like seeing it in a slow motion. He looked so upset, before his expression changed from surprised, to embarrassed and a tad bit of disbelief.

Shaking his head, Atsumu glanced away. “You don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“You think I would go all the way here from Miyagi if I wasn’t sure about my feelings? You said it yourself that Miyagi and Hyogo are too far away.”

Biting his lip, as if he was holding onto the last bit of his control so desperately, Atsumu made an apparent distance between them. And while Hinata wanted to feel frustrated, he understood too. Because this man in front of him, so beautiful, so full of love, was just afraid to lose, to hurt, and to fall. And if he wasn’t brave enough to take the step, Hinata would be there to take his hands. It was the reason he was here, after all.

“If you still don’t believe me, and you rather trust the stupid letter I wrote back then, will you believe me if I gave you a letter too?” Hinata asked, no more hostility left in his tone.

At that, Atsumu finally looked back at him. “What?”

Hinata quickly turned around and scooted down, rummaging through his things in his bag. He might not come with flowers like Osamu suggested, but he had something that was, hopefully, better.

A letter.

The letter that he had written and rewritten over and over for a whole night as soon as he ended his phone call with Osamu. Everything he wanted to say, his regrets, his feelings, his desire, he poured it all out in the letter.

So when he found it—thank God he didn’t leave it behind—he clasped it in his hand with all his might, closing his eyes for a few seconds, praying that Atsumu would accept it, all the things he said in there.

Hinata got up again, facing the guy whose curious eyes already fixed on the ivory letter in his hand. Taking a deep breath, Hinata extended his hand.

“The letter you read back then wasn’t addressed for you. And I think it’s only fair if I gave you a letter, with my genuine feelings in it, written especially for you, Miya Atsumu-san.”

Hinata watched and waited, as Atsumu was looking between him and the letter back and forth. He looked hesitant for a moment, before he visibly gulped, receiving the letter handed to him, then started to open the envelope, took out the letter, and unraveled it.

One minute, two minutes passed. And Hinata was forced to only hear the rustles of the cherry blossom leaves above them and the hammering of his heartbeat. While Atsumu just stood there, reading, his head hanging low and his yellowish hair covering his face, with the letter held by his fingers, so delicately like he was holding his precious volleyball.

It wasn’t a long letter. Hinata might be a talkative person, but he couldn’t really do it in writing. So really, Atsumu should be done by now. But Atsumu kept his head down, his grip on the paper getting tighter and tighter by seconds until his hands were visibly shaking. From behind his fringe, Hinata could see his lips tremble.

“Atsumu-san?”

Atsumu’s breath shuddered, and he quickly rubbed his eyes with the sleeves of his jacket. “This isn’t fair, Shoyo-kun,” he said, his voice sounded raw.

“You weren’t fair either the last time we talked here. You already knew what’s going on and what to say back then, while I needed to process what was happening. And you, seeing that I hesitated for a moment, you immediately thought that I hated you. So here I am, prepared with a letter and all.”

Atsumu said nothing, and Hinata moved closer, putting his hand firm on Atsumu’s waist. Suddenly worried that this vulnerable guy would run away again.

“Now can we please make up, because this is so stupid, and all I want is for you to hug me and kiss me like you did to me down there by the water tap.”

The setter laughed, and finally raised his head to meet Hinata’s eyes. His eyes shone brighter now, like there was hope behind them, like he was saying _please, please, don’t let this be a dream._

“Listen, I— I’m crazy about you, Shoyo-kun. For God knows how long. And if you’re mine, for real this time, I just want you to know that I will never, _ever,_ let you go. I warned you, you really will never get rid of me.”

“I don’t plan to ever let you go either, Atsumu-san.”

In an instant, Atsumu wrapped his hands around the shorter’s waist, drawing him closer. It looked like he was about to hug Hinata, before he stopped, his eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, I’ve realized this since earlier, but why are you wearing our team’s jacket?”

Hinata looked down. “Oh, this? Miya-san lent me his earlier when he snuck me into the school so I won’t stand out.”

Atsumu’s jaws ticked, and immediately his hands were on the zipper, taking the jacket off and throwing it away to the ground. “I don’t want to kiss my boyfriend when he’s wearing the jacket of a guy that he used to like.”

The laugh came out involuntarily. “Are you mad?”

“Since you called him Miya-san, and he also helped you sneak in, I forgive the both of you.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Hinata giggled. “Will you always be like this, jealous of Miya-san? Because I just told you in my letter how much I really, really, really like y—”

Before he knew, Atsumu scooped him into a hug, lifted him off the ground, until they were almost at the same height, and he pulled him into a kiss. Hinata smiled into the kiss, looping his hands around Atsumu’s neck for support. His mind raced and went blank all at the same time. The cool spring wind, the sounds, and everything around them faded to blur, and Hinata wanted more, closer.

Atsumu pulled back first, his hands hovering on the hem of Hinata’s hoodie, as if he was on the verge of pulling it up, and it was with his very last reasoning that he stopped.

The pump of adrenaline began to dissipate, and Hinata’s legs gave out. Luckily, Atsumu still had his hands around him. “You okay?” he asked, sounded like his throat was burning.

Nodding, Hinata felt his cheeks starting to hurt from smiling so wide. “So I’m your boyfriend now?”

“Obviously.”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“Don’t be a smartass, Shoyo-kun.” Atsumu leaned in, and Shoyo expected another kiss on the lips, but it was a kiss on the forehead instead. “And I love you.”

“I love you too, Atsumu-san.” Then he rested his chin on Atsumu’s chest, his neck completely bent backward. And Hinata saw how Atsumu was looking down at him with honey dripping from his eyes. “Do you like my letter? Sorry if it’s not good.”

“It’s perfect. _You’re_ perfect. Any more than this then I’ll be dead.”

* * *

_Dear atsumu-san,_

_i spent an hour just sitting on my desk trying to come up with something to say and hate that i cant talk to you directly i bet its much easier than this. its always easy to talk to you and i noticed that since the first time we talked through text messages._

_so this probably will be unbearable to read but please bear with me atsumu-san!!!_

_first of all i want to say im sorry._

_im sorry for being a stupid and clumsy and reckless coward and i know it will never be enough to make up for the pain i made you go through but i ~~want~~ need you to know that its totally okay if you dont forgive me because this is not why i wrote this letter. i didnt write this to apologize. i write to say just how much of an amazing person you are atsumu-san_

_youre not amazing because youre a great setter. not because of your deadly serves. not because of your awesome leadership skill. not because of your devastatingly handsome face. not because of your awesome height. and while i adore all of those and more, theyre not the reasons why youre an amazing person in my eyes. gosh youre way more than that._

_youre amazing because you enjoy playing volleyball more than anyone else i ever met. because you smile so bright that your eyes sparkle. because you make me smile and laugh along with you. because you can talk about everything and nothing and i could listen to it forever. because you listen to everything i said and remember. because youre always thinking about me. because youre so honest and you wear your heart in your sleeve. because you always put everyone else before you. because you love with all your heart and being. And because youre selfless._

_but at the same time youre also amazing because you hide your pain behind your smile. because you talk a lot to hide your anxiety. because you lie to avoid being hurt. because you love so fiercely that it makes you greedy. And because youre selfish._

_the miya atsumu-san in my eyes are not perfect and so perfect at the same time and how did you expect me to not fall for you? i mean… who wouldn’t be in love with you atsumu-san?_

_and i know that we started on the wrong foot and you had to get hurt along the way but i will always be grateful that i got to know you through this stupid mistake and i wouldnt have it any other ways_

_So if you still liked me, would you have the heart to give us one more chance?_

_Hinata Shoyo_

_P.S. I just reread my letter but I can’t find anywhere where I say I like you so if it’s not really obvious, I’m trying to say that I like you atsumu-san! really really really like you!!_

_Okay thats all :D_

_I like you <3_

**Author's Note:**

> ~~~~~ten years later~~~~~  
> "Osamu-san said he'll give us extra onigiri the next time we help at his shop."  
> "............Did you just call Samu "Osamu-san"?"  
> "That's his name? And I've been calling him that anyway."  
> "Is this because he's been giving you extra salmon lately? Shoyo-kun--"  
> "Isn't it weird for me to keep calling him Miya-san when I'm soon gonna be a Miya-san too?"  
> "......."  
> "......."  
> "SHOYO-KUUUUUUN" *kiss* *smooch* *kiss* *smooch*
> 
> Gosh these dorks are everything.  
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are much appreciated <3


End file.
